The Supreme Court on Friday will hear the Muslim side’s plea challenging the Allahabad High Court’s order directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey at the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi.
Advocate Nizam Pasha for the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee mentioned the matter before the bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
“The HC has passed an order. We’ve filed an SLP challenging that order. I have sent an email (seeking an urgent hearing). Let them not proceed with the survey…,” Pasha said. “I will look at the email right away,” the CJI responded.
May Have Consequences Across Country: Muslim Side on HC Order
The Muslim side said the High Court’s order shall be set aside on account of grave risks posed by such an exercise which may have consequences across the country.
“While the High Court has gone into the nature of the exercise proposed to be conducted by the ASI and has limited the extent and wide nature of the order dated 21.07.2023 passed by the District Judge, howsoever well-intentioned such consideration may have been, the question before the Hon’ble High Court was not whether the techniques of the ASI are invasive or non-invasive but rather whether such an exercise, in a suit filed in 2021, given its sensitivity and orders passed by this Hon’ble Court could at all be allowed,” they said in the plea.
Hindu Side Petitioners File Caveat in SC
Hours after the court order, Rakhi Singh, one of the petitioners in the Gyanvapi case, and some others who were party in the Allahabad HC, filed a caveat before Supreme Court, seeking that no order is passed in the matter before hearing the Hindu side.
Survey Necessary in Interest of Justice: Allahabad HC
The High Court pronounced its order on a plea by the mosque committee, challenging the Varanasi district court’s direction to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey to determine if the Gyanvapi masjid was built on a temple.
While delivering the judgment, the High Court emphasizes that a “scientific survey is necessary in the interest of justice”.
Dismissing the petition by the Muslim body, which manages the affairs of the Gyanvapi mosque, challenging a district court order that had permitted the ASI survey, the bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker held that the order is just and proper, and no interference from the high court is warranted.
There is no reason to not believe the ASI’s assurance that the survey will not cause any damage to the structure, it said, asserting that no digging should be done on the mosque premises.
“In the opinion of the Court, the scientific survey/investigation proposed is necessary in the interest of justice and shall benefit the plaintiffs and defendants alike and come in aid of the trial court to arrive at a just decision. The (trial) court was justified in passing the impugned order,” the bench said in its 16-page verdict.
According to Vishnu Shankar Jain, the survey will be conducted in compliance with an affidavit filed by ASI, and it will take effect immediately. The court has not imposed any specific time limit for the survey, and legally, the survey can be conducted at any point in time.
Gyanvapi Mosque Case: Timeline
Why Controversy over Gyanvapi?
The Gyanvapi Mosque has been a subject of extensive legal and historical debate as many Hindu groups believe that the mosque stood atop a demolished portion of the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The mosque is located close to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple and the current judicial proceedings started after a group of women sought permission for daily prayers before the idols on its outer walls.
The ongoing controversy began in 2019, when a Varanasi-based lawyer filed a petition seeking an examination of the area by the ASI. The Muslim side opposed the petition seeking the ASI survey of the mosque complex.
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