Supreme Court Refuses to Stop Hindu Prayers at Gyanvapi Mosque Cellar

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Hindu prayers in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.

The Supreme Court ordered the maintenance of status quo on offering of namaz by Muslims in the Gyanvapi premises.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud was hearing a fresh plea of the Gyanvapi mosque management committee against an Allahabad High Court decision upholding a lower court’s order allowing Hindu prayers in the southern cellar of the mosque.

The bench also sought the response of priest Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas by April 30 on the plea of the mosque committee.

The Allahabad High Court had dismissed the mosque committee’s plea in which it had challenged the district court’s January 31 order allowing Hindus to offer prayers in the Gyanvapi cellar.