Hindu Side Can Now Perform Puja in Sealed Gyanvapi Basement; All You Need To Know About Vyasji Tehkana

In what is being dubbed a “historic verdict”, the Varanasi Court on Wednesday granted permission to the Hindu side petitioners to perform puja in the basement of the Gyanvapi mosque premises.

As per the court’s order, concerned authorities are to comply with its order within a week and also make the necessary arrangements for pooja of the idols performed by the plaintiff and a pujari, or priest, nominated by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust.

The verdict was given in response to a case filed by Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas against the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee (AIMC), which manages the mosque.

Hindu side’s advocate, Vishnu Shankar Jain said that this was a “turning point in the case”, terming it to be a “historic verdict”. Here’s all you need to know about the basement site in question.

What is Vyasji Tehkhana

According to an HT report, the controversial Gyanvapi mosque has four ‘tehkhanas’ (cellars) in the basement out of which one is still in possession of the Vyas family who used to live here.

The basement of Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana is located at the southern end of the Gyanvapi complex. Madan Mohan Yadav had earlier said that authorities had barricaded and locked the basement known as ‘Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana’ in 1993.

The said basement was cleaned during the scientific survey of the mosque premises by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2023.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on December 18 submitted its report on the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises in the Varanasi district court.

A large Hindu temple existed before the construction of Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, said Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side in the case while reading out the report from the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) survey.

Meanwhile, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee said that it would challenge the district court’s order in the Allahabad High Court. In opposition to this, the Hindu side’s advocate, Vishnu Jain will be filing a caveat before the Allahabad HC that they should be heard first.