Gyanvapi Mosque Committee Approaches Supreme Court After Survey Allowed

Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque committee has gone to the Supreme Court, challenging a High Court order that gave a go ahead for a “scientific survey” of the mosque complex. The order by the Allahabad High Court earlier today said a survey by the Archaeological Survey was warranted in the interest of justice. Earlier, the Supreme Court had barred any survey inside the mosque complex.

The High Court today rejected a plea by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which had challenged the lower court order for a survey.

The High Court directed ASI to “find out” whether the “present structure” has been built over a “pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple” – a claim made by the petitioners in the case.

The Hindu petitioners have claimed that a temple existed earlier at the site and it was demolished in the 17th Century on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

The survey by the Archaeological Survey of India had started on July 24 following the lower court’s orders. But within hours it was put on hold by the Supreme Court when the mosque committee approached it, arguing that any digging might bring down the 1000-year-old structure.

The committee had also argued that any such survey is in violation of existing laws around religious places.

The mosque’s ‘wazukhana’ — where a structure that the petitioners claimed was a ‘shivling’ — will not be within the ambit of the fresh survey in keeping with a Supreme Court order.