Gyanvapi Mosque Survey To Continue. Court Says “Necessary For Justice”

The Archaeological Survey of India will continue its survey to determine if the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi was built on a temple, the Allahabad High Court ruled today. The mosque committee had challenged the survey of the mosque, which is next to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.

“Allahabad High Court has said that ASI survey of Gyanvapi mosque complex will start. Sessions court order is upheld by the High Court,” Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side in Gyanvapi survey case told reporters.

The ASI survey had been ordered by a Varanasi court on July 21, based on a petition by four women who claimed it was the only way to determine whether the landmark mosque was built after razing a Hindu temple.

The survey started on July 24, but it was stayed within hours by the Supreme Court after the mosque committee approached it. The mosque committee had argued that the structure is over a thousand years old and any digging might destabilise it, leading to its collapse. The committee had also argued that any such survey is in violation of existing laws around religious places.