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The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has presented a survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex to the district court in a sealed cover, the court has set the next hearing for Thursday.
As reported by PTI, on Wednesday, Maulana Arshad Madani, the President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said that the Muslim party plans will appeal to the Supreme Court. This decision comes after petitions contesting the validity of a 1991 lawsuit, which seeks the “restoration” of a temple beneath the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, was rejected by the Allahabad High Court.
Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas challenging the maintainability of a 1991 lawsuit seeking the “restoration” of a temple where the Gyanvapi mosque stands and observed that the “religious character” of a disputed place can only be decided by the court.
Earlier, advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, representing the Hindu petitioners, said that the report in sealed cover was placed before the court by the ASI’s standing counsel Amit Srivastava.
Following the petitioners’ assertion that the 17th-century mosque was built over an existing temple, the court-mandated the survey.
Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque report submitted in Varanasi court by Archaeological Survey of India
During the submission of the report, four high-ranking ASI officials were in attendance in court. The ASI received several extensions to finalize the survey.
Yadav said, “The court has fixed December 21 to open the sealed report and submit its copies to the advocates of either side. The Muslim side pleaded before the court not to make the survey report public. We countered this plea by requesting the court to make it public.”
Also Read: ‘Shivling’ found at Gyanvapi, claims petitioner; Varanasi court orders sealing of area
ASI conducted a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises, situated adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The objective was to ascertain whether the mosque was built atop the remains of a pre-existing Hindu temple structure. This survey was initiated in response to the district court’s directive on July 21, instructing an examination beneath the mosque’s domes, cellars, and the western wall.
As per the Hindu plaintiff’s perspective, the Gyanvapi mosque is considered an integral part of the temple.
Yet, the main argument presented by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board is that the lawsuit is barred by the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act of 1991.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Allahabad High Court ruled that civil suits filed by Hindu worshippers and deities inter alia seeking restoration of the temple on the mosque premises are not barred by the Places of Worship Act.
Notably, the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991 prohibits the conversion of a religious structure from its nature as it stood on August 15, 1947, the date of independence.
The Places of Worship Act excluded only the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute from its scope.
Following a significant Supreme Court ruling four years ago, the initial stage of constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya is almost complete, with the consecration ceremony scheduled for next month.
On December 8, the high court reserved its decision on all five petitions questioning the suitability of the lawsuit currently under consideration by the Varanasi court.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Published: 21 Dec 2023, 07:44 AM IST
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