Express News Service
LUCKNOW: While four of the five women petitioners who had approached a local Varanasi court in the case seeking daily worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi on Sunday said they would not withdraw the case, the fifth petitioner Rakhi Singh also denied withdrawing from the collective petition.
Advocate Shivam Gaur, appearing on behalf of petitioner Rakhi Singh, informed the court that Rakhi Singh would not withdraw her name from the petition. He, however, added that one of the five petitions had to be amended.
On Sunday, the Vishwa Vaidik Sanatan Sangh chief Jitendra Singh Vishen, whose organisation had backed the original plea by the five women, had claimed it would withdraw from the petition on Monday.
The mosque management committee, (Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee) had filed a petition before the local court seeking the removal of court-appointed Advocate Commissioner Ajay Kumar after he conducted a survey in Gyanvapi Masjid in connection with a plea seeking access to a Hindu temple behind it. The committee claimed him to be biased.
The hearing of the petition by the local court (senior division) judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar has been posted for May 10. The court asked the advocate commissioner to present his side on Tuesday.
The court claimed that while the mosque management committee accused the advocate commissioner as biased, the parties including the state government, administration and Varanasi police commissioner called him unbiased and impartial.
“The copy of the petition filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee has neither been given to the advocate commissioner nor has he been present in the court to put forward his side. As a result, it will be proper to hand over the copy of the petition to Advocate Commissioner,” said the court.
The survey and videography of Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal on Gyanvapi premises, which began on Friday, was stalled amid protests against the surveyor on the second day on Saturday.However, advocate Shivam Gaur representing the petitioners, claimed that during the hearing on the petition seeking the removal of the advocate commissioner, there would be a demand to break the lock of the mosque and that there was no problem with the advocate commissioner.
After the announcement started doing the rounds on social media, the four petitioners — Manju Vyas, Sita Sahu, Lakshmi Devi and Rekha Pathak — appeared before the media in Varanasi and said that the case would not be withdrawn and they would continue the legal battle.
Manju Vyas said, “The case will not be withdrawn under any circumstances. We will continue our legal battle.”
In fact, the five women including Rakhi Singh had filed the petition under the leadership of Vishwa Vaidik Sanatan Sangh chief Jitendra Singh Vishen in August 2021, seeking permission for regular darshan and worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal.
On April 8, 2022, the court of civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar appointed Ajai Kumar as the advocate commissioner and on April 26, the court ordered a survey and videography of Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex. The court asked the advocate commissioner to present a detailed report before it on May 10.
On the other hand, the petitioners’ advocate Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi said that none of the petitioners contacted him (for withdrawing the case). So, he was not aware of it, he said.Chaturvedi said that there were five plaintiffs in the case. Even if a person withdraws for any reason, the case still stood, he said. The case continues until all the plaintiffs withdraw the case, he added.
However, later in the days, the sources close to Vishwa Vaidik Sanatan Sangh said that they never intended to withdraw from the case and that there was some confusion created on Sunday.
