- By Imran Zafar
- Wed, 02 Aug 2023 06:23 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A plea to preserve the signs in the Gyanvapi mosque complex, which is at the center of a legal dispute over its historical origin, will be heard by the Varanasi district court on August 4. The plea was filed by one of the five Hindu women who claim the right to worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal, a site next to the mosque that they alleged was part of a temple.
The district court in Varanasi had ordered a thorough survey of the mosque by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) on July 21 to verify whether it was constructed over an earlier temple, while stating that a scientific inquiry is essential for the truth to emerge. The district judge had instructed the ASI to conduct a complete survey using dating, excavation and ground penetrating radar methods of the land where the mosque is located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The survey of the mosque by the ASI, ordered by the Varanasi district court to determine whether it was built over a demolished temple, was stayed by the Allahabad High Court till August 3, in line with a Supreme Court order that halted the survey temporarily.
The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the mosque, had challenged the district court’s order in Allahabad High Court for a survey of the barricaded area of the mosque to ascertain its historical origin.
The lawyer of the petitioner, Rakhi Singh, said that the signs in the mosque complex were proof of Hindu worship and accused some people of trying to erase them. The joint secretary of the masjid committee, SM Yasin, dismissed the allegations as baseless and said they would reply in court.