The Allahabad High Court issued a notice to the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee and other opposition parties on Wednesday on the plea for a survey of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque’s ‘wuzukhana’. The court stated that the Gyanvapi survey report by the Archaeological Survey of India is “worth considering”.
The case was heard by a single bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Aggarwal. Rakhi Singh, one of the five plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri Worshipping Suit 2022 (which is now proceeding in the Varanasi Court), reportedly filed the plea.
In a second motion, the four Hindu women, who are the original plaintiffs in the dispute currently before the Varanasi court, also requested vacation of the top court’s May 19, 2023, ruling deferring the scientific survey, including carbon dating.
The Allahabad High Court declared on Wednesday that the ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple is ‘worth consideration’ and has served notice on the Muslim side.
Meanwhile, Hindu women plaintiffs have petitioned the Supreme Court for an order directing the Archeological Survey of India to investigate the nature and accompanying aspects of a ‘Shivling’ allegedly discovered in the sealed area of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque.
In a separate application, the four Hindu women who are the original plaintiffs in the suit pending before the Varanasi court sought to vacate the top court’s May 19, 2023 order deferring the scientific survey, including carbon dating, to determine the age of the ‘Shivling’ as directed by the Allahabad High Court on May 12, 2023.
The plaintiffs contended that the precise nature of the ‘Shivling’ can be discovered by dismantling the artificial/modern walls/floors around it and conducting a survey of the entire sealed area by excavation and other scientific procedures.
According to the application, which was submitted through counsel Vishnu Shankar Jain, the ASI should be directed to submit a report within the time frame specified by the court.
“It is submitted that for a proper and effective investigation, it is necessary that the ASI may be directed to undertake necessary excavation and use other scientific methods around the Shivlingam (being claimed by Muslims as a fountain) for determining the nature of Shivlingam and associated features without causing any damage to the object after removing artificial/modern walls/floors surrounding the Shivlingam,” the statement said.
