The Varanasi District Judge on Monday reserved the order in the Gyanvapi mosque case. The verdict is expected to come tomorrow (May 24). During the proceedings, the maintainability of the Places of Worship Act, 1991 was raised by the Muslim side. The Act provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed at the time of independence, barring only one exception– the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid dispute.
The bench headed by Varanasi District Judge Dr AK Vishvesha also accepted the copy of the survey report prepared by ousted commissioner Ajay Mishra. Although Mishra was removed from the case for allegedly ‘leaking information’, his successor Vishal Singh had stated that his report was eligible for submission too.
