Gyanvapi Mosque Case: Varanasi Court Denies Hindu Side’s Plea For Fresh ASI Survey

Gyanvapi Mosque Case: The Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Fast Track Court, Varanasi on Friday dismissed the Hindu side’s petition seeking an addditional survey of the Gyanvapi complex by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). 

The Hindu side claimed that there is a 100-foot Shivling present under the dome of the mosque and requested an excavation and ASI survey of the establishment. However, advocate Vijay Shankar representing the Hindu side said, “The court has rejected the application for an additional survey of the protection of the whole Gyanvapi area by the ASI.” Shankar further expressed the willingness to take the matter to higher court ‘on an immediate basis’. 

"The civil court has rejected and the order is also out... We will go to the district court for revision against this order," said Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, one of the lawyers representing the Hindu side. 

The ASI survey of most areas of the temple complex has been completed. However, some sections, inaccessible to the machines, remain unsurveyed, according to Chaturvedi. “Hence, an additional survey was demanded,” he explained. 

Confident in their prospects, Chaturvedi added, “We will go to the Civil Court and succeed. The survey will take place... We will make sure that the survey of every inch of the temple complex takes place... This is not a setback... We have already presented all the evidence.” 

The ongoing legal battle of Lord Visheshwar vs Anjuman Intezamiya Masjid Committee, centered on granting Hindus the right to worship and construct a new temple within the Gyanvapi premises, has been in progress since 1991. Filed by the Hindu side seeking permission to establish a temple within the contested site, the case has lingered in the courts for 33 years. Today, the Muslim side’s legal team concluded their arguments, moving the decades-long case one step closer to a verdict.

(With ANI inputs)