sc-seeks-gyanvapi-mosque-committee-s-response-on-asi-plea

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, seeking its response to a plea from the Hindu side for a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the sealed area of the mosque.

 

This area is where a structure, claimed by the Hindu side to be a "shivling", was found in May 2022.

 

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, after hearing arguments, directed the committee to reply within two weeks to the plea filed by the Hindu side.

 

The application seeks a scientific examination of the area, specifically the wazukhana (ablution pond), where the contested structure is located.

 

The issue dates back to May 16, 2022, when a court-ordered survey of the Gyanvapi premises, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, led to the discovery of a structure in the wazukhana.

 

The Hindu side asserted that it was a "shivling", while the Muslim side referred to it as a "fountain".

 

Senior advocates Shyam Divan and Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu petitioners, urged that all related suits be consolidated and transferred from the Varanasi district court to the Allahabad High Court.

 

They also argued for the need for an ASI survey of the sealed area.

 

On the other hand, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the mosque committee, contended that the appeal, questioning the maintainability of the suits under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991, should be heard urgently.

 

The Supreme Court had, on August 4, 2023, refused to stay the Allahabad High Court’s order allowing the ASI survey.

 

However, it stipulated that no invasive action should be taken during the survey and that any findings would be subject to scrutiny in court.

 

On July 21, 2023, the Varanasi district court had directed the ASI to carry out a “detailed scientific survey”, including excavation where necessary, to determine if the mosque was built upon a pre-existing temple.

 

However, the Supreme Court had previously ensured that the disputed structure in the wazukhana would be excluded from this survey.

 

The Hindu party maintains that the mosque was built on the site of a temple destroyed in the 17th century under the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.