On May 17, Tuesday, Hindus petitioners urged the Varanasi court to grant them access to an eastern door that leads to the Shivling found inside the disputed Gyanvapi structure during a videography survey on May 16. These are the petitioners, based on whose plea the Varanasi court had ordered a videography survey of the disputed Gyanvapi Mosque structure. It was on the third day of this survey when a Shivling was discovered inside the Wuzukhana in the disputed Gyanvapi structure.
#BREAKING | वाराणसी : हिन्दू पक्ष की कोर्ट से मांग- शिवलिंग तक पहुंचने के लिए पूरब का दरवाजा खोलने की मिले इजाजत#GyanvapiMosque #GyanvapiSurvey #GyanvapiMeinBaba #Gyanvapi #Kashi pic.twitter.com/37LMb7nRLO
— India TV (@indiatvnews) May 17, 2022
After the discovery, the Hindu side’s lawyers argued before the court that there is a door from the east that leads to the Shivling just below the Wazukhana, but it is blocked by debris. The lawyers contended that the court must allow them entry to the room that provides access to the Shivling.
Vishnu Jain, one of the lawyers representing the Hindu petitioners, said, “we haven’t been able to reach the room as the passage has been filled with debris. Hence, we are also demanding that the wall in front of the Nandi idol facing the Shivling be removed.”
On May 16, speaking to the media, Sohan Lal Arya, petitioner in the Gyanvapi mosque case, who accompanied the Court commission on mosque survey in Varanasi, said, “Shivling….for which the Nandi was waiting… The moment things became clear the chants of ‘Har Har Mahavdev’ resonated in mosque premises.”
After petitioner Sohan Lal Arya informed that a Shivling was found inside the complex of the disputed Gyanvapi structure, a Varanasi court Monday issued an order that directed authorities to immediately seal the area where the Shivling was found. In its order, the court stated that the Shivling discovery is substantial evidence and asked the CRPF commandant to secure the premises and prevent Muslims from entering the place where Shivling was found.
It stated that, at a time, only 20 Muslims should be allowed to enter the premises to offer Namaz. It also asked authorities to make sure that the Muslims are barred from performing Wuzu (washing up) in the Gyanvapi premise’s pond, the place from where the Shivling has been discovered.
