Pyagraj: In a significant legal development, the Allahabad High Court has rendered a verdict today, declaring the Mulayam Singh government's 1993 directive to cease Hindu prayers in the Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana cellar of Varanasi's historic Gyanvapi Mosque as "illegal." This judicial pronouncement comes in response to a petition challenging a district court's recent ruling, which granted permission for the resumption of Hindu prayers in the cellar after an interruption spanning three decades.

The cellar, famously known as Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana, had been sealed in the aftermath of the contentious Babri Masjid Demolition in 1992. Following the political upheaval triggered by the demolition, then Chief Minister Kalyan Singh resigned, leading to the dismissal of his government and the imposition of President's Rule. The subsequent administration, under Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, justified the sealing of the cellar on grounds of maintaining law and order.

The recent district court order, which allowed the revival of Hindu prayers in the cellar, stemmed from a petition filed by Shailendra Pathak Vyas. Mr. Vyas contended that his family had been conducting prayers in the cellar since the British era, and the interruption had caused an unwarranted disruption to their religious practices.

The Allahabad High Court's judgment today underscored the illegality of the state's actions, invoking Article 25 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees freedom of religion. The court emphasized that the Vyas family's uninterrupted religious practices in the cellar, which continued until 1993, were abruptly halted without any legal basis. The judgment firmly asserted that a citizen's right to practice their religion, as protected under Article 25, cannot be arbitrarily curtailed by the state.

Highlighting the historical context, the court acknowledged Shailendra Pathak Vyas's claim that his family has held possession of the cellar since the year 1551. Supporting documents were submitted to substantiate the familial inheritance of the sacred space through generations.

The court also scrutinized a 1936 map submitted by the then-state government, which depicted the Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana. Additionally, it pointed out that the Committee Of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which contested the district court's order, failed to establish prima facie possession over the disputed property.

In a notable observation, the court expressed its conviction that the state government's actions since 1993, restraining the Vyas family and other devotees from performing religious worship and rituals, amounted to a continuous wrong. Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, presiding over the case, categorically stated that the act of the state in preventing the religious practices in the cellar was unjustifiable.

Addressing attempts to cast doubt on the lower court's integrity, the high court clarified that the district court's order, dated January 31, was merely a correction of an accidental slip and not a hasty decision made on the last day of work.