The plea was filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee challenging a January 31 district court order permitting the conduct of Hindu prayers in the southern cellar or basement (tekhana) of the Gyanvapi Mosque.
The said order was passed amid an ongoing civil court case involving conflicting claims over the religious character of the Gyanvapi compound.
Among other claims, the Hindu side has said that Hindu prayers were earlier offered by the family of one Somnath Vyas in the mosque’s cellar until 1993 when the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led government allegedly put an end to it.
The Muslim side has opposed this claim and maintained that Muslims have always had possession over the mosque’s building.
Source: Barandbench