The Allahabad High Court on Thursday stayed the Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI) survey of the Gyanvyapi Mosque in Varanasi till August 3, the date on which the court will also pronounce its final verdict on the mosque dispute.
At the end of a three-day marathon hearing on a plea filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, challenging the Varanasi District judge’s July 21 order to conduct a survey of the mosque by ASI, the HC asked the government and counsels of the petitioners from all sides why this matter had been dragged for the last two years.
This is the third time this week that the ASI survey has been stayed. The Supreme Court had stayed the survey on July 24, giving the Gyanvapi mosque management “breathing time” to approach the High Court. The HC too had stayed the same on July 26 and again on July 27.
Opposing arguments
Advocate S.F.A. Naqvi, appearing for the mosque committee, expressed his apprehension that the survey could damage the structure.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing some Hindu petitioners, told the court that Sanskrit shlokas, an old Jyotirlinga, and other Hindu artefacts were present inside the mosque.
Advocate Saurabh Tiwary, representing one of the petitioners Rakhi Singh, told the court that an ASI survey was necessary because the mosque commitee has insisted that the claim of a Hindu structure is based on imagination and has nothing to do with ground reality.
Explained | The Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath dispute and the current case
The Advocate-General, representing the State, argued that the local court’s order to conduct an ASI survey was “very innocuous” and aims only to ascertain the truth. He also added that the State would ensure that there will not be any law-and-order problems, no matter what verdict was finally issued by the Court.
