Gyanvapi: Allahabad HC stays ASI survey till July 27

The Allahabad High Court has issued an order to stay the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) until Thursday.

The court resumed hearing a plea against the district court’s directive to carry out a survey to ascertain whether the Gyanvapi mosque was built upon a Hindu temple.

Senior advocate SFA Naqvi, representing the Gyanvapi mosque complex, informed the court that the ASI had filed an affidavit stating that the survey would be conducted in adherence to the law, without causing any harm to the mosque’s structure.

The court is set to reconvene on Thursday afternoon to hear further arguments on the matter.

The controversy surrounding the Gyanvapi mosque complex, situated adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, has been a subject of legal debate. On July 21, a Varanasi district court ordered a ‘scientific investigation’ by the ASI to determine whether the current structure of the mosque was built on the remains of a Hindu temple.

In response to the district court’s order, an ASI team consisting of around 20 officials from Agra and Lucknow, along with administrative officials, entered the premises on Monday morning, equipped with the necessary tools to conduct the scientific survey. Lawyers representing the plaintiff were allowed entry, while no lawyers from the Muslim side were present.

However, the Supreme Court intervened on July 24, directing that the district court’s order should not be enforced until 5 pm on July 26, allowing Muslim parties time to approach the Allahabad High Court. Following this directive, the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee sought the intervention of the high court.

The dispute originated from a suit filed by four Hindu women petitioners who sought the right to worship Maa Shringar Gauri on the outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

The situation has garnered significant attention, and both Hindu and Muslim communities have been closely following the legal proceedings. The stay on the ASI survey by the Allahabad High Court provides temporary relief and adds another chapter to the ongoing legal battle over the

historical site.