Hindu petitioners can worship inside the previously sealed basement – the ‘Vyas ka tekhana’ area – of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi, a city court ruled Wednesday. The judge also said arrangements, including removal of barricades, are to be completed in a week. The court further said prayers should be conducted by priests from the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

“Hindu side allowed to offer prayers… district administration will have to make arrangements in seven days. Everyone will have the right to pray there,” Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer for the four Hindu women petitioners in this case, said.

The mosque committee is expected to challenge this order in a higher court.

The mosque has four ‘tekhana‘, or cellar, in the basement. One is still in the possession of a family of priests that used to live there. The family had argued that, as hereditary priests, they be allowed to enter the structure and perform pujas.

According to the petition, the priest, Somnath Vyas, used to perform prayers till 1993 when the cellar was closed.

It had earlier been claimed debris from statues of Hindu gods was found during a survey of the area. It had also been claimed parts of a pre-existing structure – ruled as a temple by the ASI report – including pillars, were used in building the mosque.