The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will continue to conduct a survey at the Gyanvapi premises to determine if the mosque was built upon a temple, the Allahabad High Court ruled today, saying it is “in the interest of justice”. The High Court dismissed the Muslim side’s petition against a Varanasi court order that had directed the ASI to conduct a scientific survey in the mosque premises last month.
“Issue of a commission is permissible. The Varanasi Court was justified in ordering for ASI survey of the premises. The scientific survey is necessary in the interest of justice,” the High Court said, adding that the survey can resume immediately.”The Allahabad High Court has said that the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex can start. The sessions court order has been upheld by the HC,” Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi survey case told news agency ANI.Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, “I welcome this verdict. I am confident that the truth will come out after the ASI survey and the Gyanvapi issue will be resolved.”
The court had on July 27 reserved till August 3 its verdict on a plea against the ASI survey. On July 21, a Varanasi court directed the ASI to conduct the survey, including excavations, wherever necessary, to determine if the mosque was built at a place where a temple existed earlier.
The ASI had started the survey on July 24, but it was stayed within hours by the Supreme Court after the mosque committee approached it, allowing time for the committee to appeal against the lower court’s order.The counsel for the mosque committee had expressed his apprehension that the survey and excavation would cause damage to the structure. The Centre has assured the Supreme Court that the survey will not alter the structure in any way.
A plea has been filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking protection of “Hindu signs and symbols” in the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi. The plea has been filed by Rakhi Singh, one of the petitioners in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri case.According to the PIL, it has been stated that till the verdict of the Varanasi court is delivered in the Shringar Gauri case, non-Hindus should be prohibited from entering the premises, and orders should be given to protect Hindu symbols found within the Gyanvapi premises. The matter has been scheduled for hearing on August 7.Meanwhile, the secretary of the Intezamia Masjid Committee, Mohammad Yasin, said that they have not yet received a copy of the new petition.
“Once we receive the copy of the petition, our legal team will prepare its reply,” he said.
The Gyanvapi mosque hit the headlines after a group of women approached a lower court in Varanasi for permission from a Hindu deity in the mosque’s complex on all days claiming a temple used to exist earlier.The court then ordered a video survey of the complex based on this petition in 2022. During the survey, a structure was discovered that the petitioners claimed was a ‘shivling’.But the mosque management committee said the structure was part of a fountain in the ‘wazukhana’, which is an area filled with water where people wash their hands and feet before praying.Considering the sensitivity of the case, the Supreme Court ordered the sealing of the alleged ‘shivling’ area. In September 2022, the Varanasi district Court dismissed a challenge by the mosque committee, which argued that the women’s request to worship Hindu deities inside the complex premises was not maintainable.
