Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition filed by the Gyanvapi mosque Management Committee opposing the Allahabad HC order that directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a scientific survey of the Shivling found inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi to determine its age. The plea will be heard on Friday, May 19.
#SupremeCourt agrees to hear plea against HC order on scientific survey of '#Shivling' in #Gyanvapi mosque
— IANS (@ians_india) May 18, 2023
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A bench comprising of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala took note of senior attorney Huzefa Ahmadi’s remarks on behalf of the Gyanvapi mosque management committee and consented to list the petition for hearing on Friday.
“The Allahabad High Court has passed an order pending the appeal,” the senior lawyer said.
Notably, the Allahabad Court had on Friday, May 12 issued the order while hearing a revision petition filed by four women Hindu worshippers challenging the Varanasi Court’s October 14 order, that rejected a plea for scientific investigation, including carbon dating, of the structure found in May 2022 during a court-mandated survey of the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
This came after the ASI submitted its report as ordered by the High Court, which rebuked the ASI in April this year for its laxity in submitting its report on the feasibility of carbon dating the Shivling found inside the mosque.
Shivling found in wuzukhana of the disputed structure at Gyanvapi
The Gyanvapi dispute dates back decades but in August 2021, five women filed a petition in a local court demanding the right of unhindered worship at the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal, located inside the complex that houses idols of Hindu Gods. In April 2022, the local court ordered a survey of the complex.
During the survey, a Shivling was found submerged in the wuzukhana, the place where people who offer namaz, the Islamic prayer, clean their hands and feet and gargle water as a cleansing ritual, inside the complex where the disputed structure called ‘Gyanvapi mosque’ is located. The mosque was allegedly constructed after destroying the Hindu temple of Kashi Vishwanath. The centuries-old Nandi inside the new complex right next to the disputed structure also points towards the place where the Shivling was found in the wuzukhana.
Upon discovery of the Shivling, the judge ordered the sealing of the complex and forbade those offering prayer in the masjid from cleaning their feet and hands where the Shivling has been found. However, after the Shivling was found, Islamists and many ‘liberals’ mocked the idol as a ‘fountain’ and other innuendos which have hurt the religious feelings of Hindus.
