Gyanvapi Mosque: Interim Stay To Continue, Verdict On Aug 3

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday said that the interim stay on the ASI Survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque Premises will continue until Thursday, August 3.

On this date, the court will pronounce the verdict on the plea by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee challenging the Varanasi District Judge's ASI Survey order of the Gyanvapi Mosque, which was issued on July 21.

Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker heard the matter in the afternoon session and reserved his verdict till August 3, according to a report in PTI.

The High Court was hearing a plea against a Varanasi district court order directing the ASI to conduct a survey to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque was built upon a temple.

The court heard the arguments from Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the mosque, and the Hindu side. Senior ASI officials were also present in the courtroom.

Last Friday, the Varanasi district court ordered the ASI to conduct a survey, using technologies like ground penetrating radar and excavations, if necessary, to determine if a temple existed earlier at the same place.

However, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the survey of Varanasi's Gyanvapi Mosque till 5 pm on 26 July and asked the mosque committee to appeal a district court's order for such a survey in the Allahabad High Court.

The court on Wednesday said that it would take up the matter at 3:30 pm on Thursday, but Chief Justice Diwaker started hearing the case 15 minutes in advance and reserved its order before concluding the day's proceedings at 5 pm.

The survey was sought by the original litigants, five Hindu women, who earlier sought permission to pray at the "Shringar Gauri Sthal" inside the shrine complex. The mosque is located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and Hindu litigants in the district court had sought the survey to determine whether a temple existed at the same spot earlier.