In a recent development, a local court in Varanasi has dismissed the plea of the Gyanvapi mosque management committee seeking to halt the ongoing scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
District government advocate Rajesh Mishra confirmed that District Judge A K Vishvesh, in response to the plea filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid’s committee, ruled that the ASI survey had already received approval from both the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court. Consequently, the local court had no jurisdiction to issue any orders to stop the survey.
The ASI’s survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, located adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, aims to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was built atop a Hindu temple.
The mosque management committee contended in the district court that the ASI survey was being conducted in violation of established rules and should be halted. They argued that no notices had been served to the litigants, and no fees were charged for the survey.
District Judge Vishvesh emphasized that no additional conditions could be imposed on the plaintiffs. He stated, “The Archaeological Survey of India is not a private organization; it is conducting government work. It is not appropriate to compel someone to bear the expenses of the survey.”
Additionally, the court also addressed a petition from the Hindu side regarding the survey of the sealed ‘wazukhana’ within the Gyanvapi complex. A hearing on this matter has been scheduled for October 5.
The ASI survey was initiated following the Allahabad High Court’s endorsement of a Varanasi district court’s order, which deemed the survey “necessary in the interest of justice” and beneficial to both the Hindu and Muslim parties involved. The Supreme Court, in a separate ruling, declined to stay the Allahabad High Court’s order, allowing the survey to proceed.
The ongoing survey remains a point of contention and a significant legal matter, as it seeks to uncover historical and archaeological evidence related to the Gyanvapi mosque and its surroundings, which hold deep cultural and religious significance for both Hindu and Muslim communities.
