The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a plea moved by Hindu women plaintiffs for cleaning the water tank in the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi which is located in an area that has been sealed since May 2022.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ordered the cleaning of the ‘wazukhana tank’ under the supervision of the Varanasi district magistrate, Live Law reported.
‘Wazukhana’ is the reservoir where devotees go to perform ablutions before offering namaz. It has remained sealed since May 16, 2022, after the discovery of a structure that the Hindu side claimed to be a ‘shivling’ and the Muslim side a ‘fountain’.
Also Read: ASI submits sealed report on Gyanvapi mosque survey in Varanasi court
The direction came after Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, appearing in the court on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government, sought permission for the cleaning of the tank, saying there were dead fish in it.
The top court also noted in its order that a similar plea has been filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the management body of the mosque, before a trial court in Varanasi, PTI reported.
The Varanasi district court had, on July 21 last year, directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a “detailed scientific survey” — including excavations, wherever necessary — to determine if the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple was built upon a temple.
The mosque’s ‘wazukhana’, where a structure claimed by the Hindu litigants to be a ‘Shivling’ exists, will not be part of the survey, following an earlier Supreme Court order protecting that spot in the mosque complex.
Hindu activists claim that a temple existed earlier at the site and was demolished in the 17th century on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
(With inputs from PTI)