A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, ordered the parties to maintain status quo at the Gyanvapi premises to enable both the communities to offer religious prayers.
The status quo “shall not be disturbed by either of the parties without obtaining the previous sanction and leave of this Court”, the top court said in the order.
The Court said that Hindus will enter from south and pray in cellar and Muslims will pray in northern side as they enter from there.
This arrangement will continue till the case is finally decided.
“At this stage, bearing in mind the fact that namaz is being offered by Muslim communities unhindered after the district court and High Court orders, and that prayers in tehkhana is limited to the Hindu priests, it is important to maintain the status quo, so that both communities can perform religious worship in above terms,” the Court said in its order.
The Court also issued notice to the Hindu parties on the appeal filed by Muslim parties and listed the matter for consideration in July.
It also ordered that Hindu parties will continue to hold puja in terms of the January 31 order of the civil court.
“The religious observance of Hindus shall be in accordance with the order of January 31, 2024,” the top court stated.
Source: Barandbench
