Court agrees to hear plea to become party in Gyanvapi case

Varanasi: The fast-track court of civil judge (senior division), Prashant Kumar, on Tuesday allowed a hearing for the plea made by Shailendra Pathak Vyas and Jailendra Pathak, grandsons of Somnath Byas, one of the deceased litigants in the Gyanvapi original suit. They wanted to recall their application to join the case, which was rejected in 2019.
Their lawyer, Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, said that the court has agreed to hear their plea to join the original suit (Ancient Idol of Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar versus AIM).They submitted this application in 2022 after the court initially rejected their request to replace their grandfather, who had passed away.
Vijay Shankar Rastogi, the advocate representing the deity's next friend in the original suit, strongly opposed Pathak's plea in the last hearing.
Due to his objection, another plea by one Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari to hold Urs at structures similar to 'majar' in the Gyanvapi mosque compound was rejected on May 2.