Varanasi district court judge to hear Gyanvapi civil suit today

Following the apex court’s order, all documents and files related to the case, including the reports of advocate commissioners and case-related applications, were transferred from the office of the Civil Judge (Senior Division) to the office of the District Judge on Saturday. Both the offices are located in the same building.

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“The hearing will begin in the court of the district judge on Monday… It is up to the district judge to decide at what point he starts the hearing. It would depend on the urgency and the importance of various issues,” said a well-placed source.

Earlier, Civil Judge (Senior Division), Ravi Kumar Diwakar had listed the matter for hearing on May 23.

On April 8, while hearing a petition filed by five women seeking the right to worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal on the outer wall of the mosque complex, Civil Judge (Senior Division), Varanasi, Ravi Kumar Diwakar, appointed Ajay Kumar Mishra as Advocate Commissioner to carry out a video survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex, and directed him to submit a report.

While passing an order on an application filed by the Committee of Management of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, Varanasi, which had accused Mishra of being “biased”, the court on May 12 had appointed two more advocate commissioners — lawyers Vishal Singh and Ajay Pratap Singh — to assist him. Last week, the court removed Mishra as court commissioner. Singh and Mishra have submitted their separate reports of the survey.