Allahabad high court reserves verdict on Gyanvapi Mosque survey plea amid controversy

On Thursday, the Allahabad High Court reserved its verdict on a plea challenging a Varanasi district court order instructing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey to ascertain if the Gyanvapi mosque was built on the site of a temple. The stay on the ASI survey will continue until August 3, when the court is set to deliver its final decision on the plea against the controversial survey ordered by the district court.

 

The case, brought forth by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, the managing body of the Gyanvapi mosque, was heard by Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker. The counsel representing the mosque committee, SFA Naqvi, pointed out that the issue of the suit's maintainability filed by five plaintiffs was still pending before the Supreme Court. He further argued that neither the trust nor the temple's incharge had raised any objections, but rather individuals from various parts of the country were filing separate suits.

 

Naqvi also presented photographs of digging equipment allegedly brought by the ASI to the mosque premises, suggesting their intentions to excavate the site. However, a senior ASI official, present in the court during Wednesday's hearing, assured that the ASI team had no plans to damage the mosque's structure in any way.

 

Vishnu Shankar Jain, the counsel representing the Hindu side, read the application filed for the ASI survey and highlighted various signs of Hindu religious significance on the walls of the mosque's present structure. Jain submitted that Hindu artifacts were found both inside the mosque and on the western wall, upon which the mosque stands. He argued that during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's time, the temple was demolished, and Muslims later constructed the mosque atop the remnants of the old temple.

 

During the Wednesday morning session, Chief Justice Diwaker requested the additional solicitor general of India to have an expert member of the ASI from Varanasi demonstrate how the survey would be conducted.

 

In response to the court's order, Alok Tripathi, Additional Director of ASI, filed an affidavit detailing the survey process.

 

Naqvi raised objections to the Varanasi district court's ruling on July 21, stating that it had concluded that without a survey report, the matter couldn't be decided, yet it did not thoroughly examine the materials before arriving at such a decision.

 

Another point of contention raised by Naqvi was that the ASI was not made a party to the suit, yet it was directed to conduct the survey and provide its opinion on the matter.