Central Supreme Court to Hear Plea of Gyanvapi Mosque Management Against Survey

The management of Gyanvapi mosque has filed a plea with the Supreme Court for the survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The survey team reportedly found a ‘Shivling’ inside the complex. The apex court, presided over by Justices D Y Chandrachud and P S Narasimha, will hear the plea of the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid on Tuesday. The bench, led by Chief Justice N V Ramana, ordered the listing of the plea before Justice Chandrachud’s bench. Despite the Muslim side’s plea for an interim order against the survey, the bench refused, but agreed to consider listing the plea for a hearing. Senior counsel Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the mosque committee, requested an urgent interim order against the survey, citing the Places of Worship Act. The Act prohibits legal proceedings for changing the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. A local court in Varanasi rejected a plea to replace the advocate commissioner conducting a videography survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex and ordered its completion by May 17. The court also appointed two more lawyers to assist in the survey and directed the police to take action against any attempts to obstruct the process. The survey was temporarily halted due to objections from the mosque management committee. The court dismissed objections to opening closed basements in the mosque complex for the survey and instructed the district magistrate and police commissioner to monitor and ensure the survey proceeds smoothly. The survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex is scheduled to take place between 8 am and 12 pm daily until its completion. The videography survey was ordered on April 18, 2021, following a plea by local residents. The original suit, filed in 1991, sought the restoration of an ancient temple at the site of the Gyanvapi mosque, claiming the mosque is part of the temple.