The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain the Hindu side's request for permission to offer prayers at the alleged Shivling located inside the sealed wuzukhana area of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi during the holy month of Sawan.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant asked the petitioners to exercise patience, observing, "Have some patience. There are so many issues pending. This is not the time for this kind of prayer."

Appearing for the Hindu side, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain sought permission to conduct special prayers inside the sealed portion of the Gyanvapi premises, where a structure claimed by Hindu devotees to be a Shivling was found during a court-monitored survey in 2022.

The Hindu side submitted that it was willing to comply with any conditions imposed by the Court, including security arrangements, to facilitate the proposed religious rituals.

The wuzukhana area has remained sealed since 2022 under the Supreme Court's interim directions following the discovery of the disputed structure during the survey.

Earlier this month, both the Hindu and Muslim parties rejected the Supreme Court's proposal to resolve the long-pending dispute through mediation under its "Samadhan Samaroh" initiative. Both sides instead chose to have the matter decided through the regular judicial process on its legal merits.

The Hindu parties maintain that the Gyanvapi mosque was constructed after the demolition of a pre-existing temple during the Mughal era. The Muslim side disputes this claim, asserting that the mosque is a legally recognised Waqf property.

In a significant development earlier, the Varanasi District Court, in January 2024, allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers in the Vyas Tehkhana, the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The Allahabad High Court later upheld that order and directed the Varanasi District Magistrate to make necessary arrangements to enable the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust to conduct worship there in accordance with the court's directions.