Allahabad HC upholds Varanasi court order, allows ASI survey of Gyanvapi mosque

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s challenge to the Varanasi’s court order and allowed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

In its verdict, the high court said the ASI survey is necessary in the interest of justice and it needs to be carried out under certain conditions.

Also Read: WATCH Video: Calling Gyanvapi a mosque will lead to dispute, says Yogi Adityanath

The court had on July 27 reserved 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.

Also Read: Allahabad HC orders scientific investigation of shivling-like structure inside Gyanvapi mosque

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.

The mosque is located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and Hindu litigants in the district court had sought the survey to determine whether a temple existed at the same spot earlier. 

Gyanvapi mosque row

A petition by four women, who claimed it was the only way to determine whether the landmark mosque was built after razing a Hindu temple, was filed at a lower court in Varanasi.

The court 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.

On July 21, 2023, the ASI survey had been ordered by a Varanasi court on July 21.