On Monday morning, a team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) started a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. People with knowledge of the situation claimed on Sunday that the survey is taking place despite the mosque management committee's petition to the Supreme Court against the district court's order permitting the inspection.
The ASI crew arrived in Varanasi on Sunday with all the necessary tools. A UP Police squad can be seen entering the Gyanvapi mosque compound as the ASI assessment started in a video that news agency ANI released.
There are about 40 people involved, including representatives from ASI, the management committee at the Gyanvapi mosque, four plaintiffs who identify as Hindu women, and their solicitors.
No members of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee are taking the poll. Joint Secretary SM Yasin of the committee declared, "We have disregarded the ASI survey. We weren't there (at the Gyanvapi mosque) for the ASI survey, and neither was our advocate. We're not taking part in it.
In response to a petition by the Hindu side requesting that the ASI be directed to conduct a "scientific survey" of the entire Gyanvapi mosque grounds, the Varanasi court issued its ruling.
Five women who had previously requested permission to pray at the "Shringar Gauri Sthal" inside the shrine complex submitted the petition in May. On May 16 of last year, a building that was allegedly a "Shivling" by the Hindu side and a "fountain" by the Muslim side was discovered during a court-ordered inspection of the mosque close to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
"The Hindu community, which includes crores of people, is experiencing a very great moment right now... According to Sohan Lal Arya, one of the petitioners in the Gyanvapi mosque case, the survey is the sole option for resolving the Gyanvapi issue.
What was said in court in Varanasi?
The Varanasi district court ordered the ASI to conduct a thorough assessment of the Gyanvapi masjid on Friday in order to determine whether the mosque was constructed atop an earlier Hindu temple. The court reasoned that this scientific inquiry is "necessary" in order for the "true facts" to be revealed.
However, the court ruled that the part be excluded because it has been sealed since the Supreme Court's judgment in May 2022. Muslims contend that the area under the seal is actually a portion of a fountain, whereas Hindus assert that a Shivling has been discovered there.
"On Monday, the ASI survey will start. According to Varanasi District Magistrate S Rajalingam, "All the parties, including plaintiffs and defendants involved in the matter, have been informed about it.
Following an order from the Allahabad high court, the Varanasi district court had on May 16 consented to hear a request for an ASI survey.
What did the Supreme Court rule regarding the Gyanvapi mosque?
The alleged "shivling," which was discovered when another court requested a video survey of the facility, had already been ordered by the Supreme Court to be protected.
The administrators of the mosque insisted that the building is a component of the water fountain system at the "wazukhana," the reservoir where worshippers bathe before saying namaz.
Lawyers for the mosque at one point asserted that the Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, was breached and that the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque lawsuit could not be maintained.
This regulation prohibited altering any house of worship's nature from what it was on August 15, 1947. However, the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid legal controversy was exempt from the Act.
Raju Das, the Hanumangarhi mahant of Ayodhya, is pleased with the Varanasi court's ruling. The chief priest of Ram Janmabhoomi Satyendra Das claimed that the seers are overjoyed about it.
