A 30-member team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) began a survey on Monday at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. The team carried out the inspection to determine if the mosque was built on top of an ancient Hindu temple.
However, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that no ASI survey will be conducted of the mosque complex till July 26. The SC’s order came while hearing a petition filed by the mosque management committee challenging the Allahabad High Court’s decision, which had upheld the right of five Hindu women to worship inside the Gyanvapi mosque.
As the Supreme Court has ordered a stay on the Allahabad High Court order, News18 explains the development in the case so far:
About the Gyanvapi Mosque
The Gyanvapi Mosque has been a subject of extensive legal and historical debate as many Hindu groups believe that the mosque stood atop a demolished portion of the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The mosque is located close to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple and the current judicial proceedings started after a group of women sought permission for daily prayers before the idols on its outer walls.
Several petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court, Allahabad High Court, and Varanasi court regarding the Gyanvapi mosque case. The petitions seek to address various aspects of the dispute, including the mosque’s alleged construction by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and the right to worship inside the disputed site.
The Gyanvapi Masjid Case So Far
- The ongoing controversy began in 2019, when a Varanasi-based lawyer filed a petition seeking an examination of the area by the ASI. The Muslim side opposed the petition seeking the ASI survey of the mosque complex.
- In 2022, the Varanasi court heard a petition by five Hindu women seeking permission court to conduct daily prayers at “a shrine behind the western wall of the mosque complex” and protection of the idols.
- The Varanasi court appointed Advocate Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra to carry out an inspection of the site, “prepare videography of the action” and submit a report. The Hindu side claimed that a ‘Shivling’ has been found by the survey team in the ‘wazukhana’ in the Mosque complex.
- The reports of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, submitted in the court in May 2022, state that debris of old temples were found at the corner of the northern and western walls outside the barricading, and Hindu motifs such as bells, kalash, flowers and trishul were visible on pillars in the tehkhana (basement).
- The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) termed the court order for videography as a clear violation of The Places of Worship Act, 1991.
- However, in September last year, the Varanasi district court rejected the Anjuman Committee’s plea challenging Hindu worshippers’ plea (for the right to pray inside the disputed site) in the Gyanvapi case.
- The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) then challenged the Varanasi court order and filed a petition before the Allahabad high court.
- Meanwhile, in May, the Varanasi district court agreed to hear a plea for an ASI survey, following an Allahabad High Court order. The Supreme Court had ordered the protection of the area around the claimed ‘shivling’, found when another court ordered a video survey of the complex.
- In June this year, the HC upheld the Varanasi district court order that said Hindu groups are not barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and the suit seeking the right to worship inside the Gyanvapi mosque was maintainable.
- Earlier on Friday, the Varanasi court issued directions for a “scientific investigation” of the mosque premises by the ASI. District and Sessions Judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha directed the ASI to “conduct ground penetrating radar survey just below the three domes of the building in question and conduct excavation, if required”.
- The judge ordered the survey proceedings to be videographed and the report must be submitted to the court before August 4. The move came after the court on July 14 reserved its order after hearing both the Hindu and Muslim sides.
- However, the Supreme Court on Monday halted the “detailed scientific survey" till 5 pm on July 26, saying “some breathing time" needed to be granted to appeal against the order.
