Gyanvapi row: Commission submits mosque survey report in Varanasi court

The court-appointed Commission that conducted the survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex has filed the report in the Varanasi court on Thursday.

VARANASI:  The court-appointed Commission that conducted the survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex filed the report in the Varanasi court on Thursday. The Gyanvapi mosque survey report was submitted in a sealed cover by the commission and a chip with videos and photographs of the filming process was also handed over to the court.

"The survey report has been submitted before the court. People from both sides will be present before the court. It is a 10-15 page long report," Assistant Court Commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh said on the Gyanvapi mosque survey report.

The report has been submitted before the court. People from both sides will be present before the court. It is a 10-15 page long report: Assistant Court Commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh on Gyanvapi mosque survey report pic.twitter.com/lgkfoF59nj

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 19, 2022

The Gyanvapi mosque is adjacent to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple and the local civil court is hearing a plea by a group of five Hindu women -- Rekha Pathak, Manju Vyas, Sita Sahu, Laxmi Devi and Rakhi Singh -- seeking the court's permission for daily prayers before the idols on its outer walls.

The Varanasi civil court had earlier directed a survey to inspect, conduct videography and collect evidence regarding the alleged existence of Hindu deities inside the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. On May 12, the court said that the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque will continue despite objections from mosque authorities.

The civil court had appointed a court commissioner to conduct the survey and videography of the site and the same was challenged before Allahabad High Court, which dismissed the appeal on April 21. Now April 21 order of the High Court has been challenged in the apex court. The order of the civil court for undertaking survey and videography at the premises came on the petition of the aforesaid.

Another petition, which was filed by one Vijay Shankar Rastogi, had contended that the entire premises belonged to the Kashi Vishwanath and that the Gyanvapi Mosque was only a part of the Temple, is also pending in the court since 1991. Rastogi had also claimed that the Kashi Vishwanath Temple had been built over two thousand years ago and the temple had been demolished by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme on Thursday asked the Varanasi civil not to proceed with the Gyanvapi Mosque case till Friday. It is due to hear a petition challenging the Varanasi civil court-mandated survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi on Friday. A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and P S Narasimha will hear the matter.

Supreme Court asks trial court in Varanasi not to proceed with the Gyanvapi Mosque case till Friday, 20th May.

— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2022

The bench had on Tuesday heard the matter over the Gyanvapi mosque row and directed the District Magistrate of Varanasi to ensure the protection of the area inside the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex where ‘Shivling’ is said to be found in the survey there.

The bench while hearing the plea of the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the affairs of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, ordered that Muslims can continue offering ‘namaz’ there without any impediment.

However, the Supreme Court refused to stay the further proceedings before the civil judge, Varanasi who is hearing the lawsuit related to the Gyanvapi mosque. It issued notices to the petitioner Hindu devotees and posted the plea of the mosque committee for hearing on May 19.