The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee on Thursday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court order earlier today which permitted the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a scientific survey in the premises of Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.

Appearing for the mosque committee, advocate Nizam Pasha mentioned the matter before the Constitution Bench hearing the Article 370 proceedings and urged that a stay be granted on the survey. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that he will look into the matter.

Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque committee moves Supreme Court against HC order allowing ASI survey

Earlier today, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the plea by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee challenging an order by the Varanasi district court allowing the ASI to conduct a survey of Gyanvapi mosque premises to ascertain if the “existing structure” was built on a Hindu religious structure”.

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. The order came after the Hindu side assured the court that the survey would be carried out in the premises without damaging the structure.

An ASI survey of the mosque premises which began on July 24 was stopped 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: WATCH Video: Calling Gyanvapi a mosque will lead to dispute, says Yogi Adityanath

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.