The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Hindu prayers in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and sought response of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple trustees on the plea of the mosque management committee.
The Supreme Court also ordered maintaining of status quo on offering of namaz by Muslims in the Gyanvapi premises in Varanasi.
The court was hearing a fresh plea of the Gyanvapi mosque management committee against an Allahabad High Court decision upholding a lower court's order allowing Hindu prayers in the southern cellar of the mosque.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud also sought the response of priest Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas by April 30 on the plea of the mosque committee.
The bench, which also comprised Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was hearing the plea of the mosque committee which manages the affairs of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.
The high court, on February 26, had dismissed the committee's plea in which it had challenged the district court's January 31 order allowing Hindus to offer prayers in the cellar.
While dismissing the plea of the mosque committee, the high court had observed that the Uttar Pradesh government's 1993 decision of stopping worship rituals inside the "Vyas Tehkhana" -- located at the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi -- was "illegal".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Varanasi Court Rejects Petition For Survey Through Excavation In Gyanvapi Complex 1 Dead, Several Injured After Two Houses Collapse In Varanasi PM Modi Attends Ganga Aarti, Offers Prayers At Kashi Temple In UP Russia's Firing Of ICBM On Ukraine Is Weapon's 1st Combat Use In History Meet 69-Year-Old St Stephen's Alumnus Who Posed As Ex IPS To Con Officials Amazon Employee Dies On Stage While Handing Over Gift At Friend's Wedding UP Student Loses Money In Betting, Fakes Abduction For Ransom, Arrested Indian Professor Shot Dead In US, Family In UP Blames Business Rivalry There's a Pattern Behind Repeatedly Targeting Adani Group: Get the Connection Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.