Varanasi Court To Hear All Gyanvapi Mosque Cases Collectively

A Varanasi Court on Tuesday ordered the clubbing of all seven cases related to the Gyanvapi Mosque.

This means, all cases related to Gyanvapi will now be heard together by the district judge's court.

District Judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha passed the orders observing that all the matters should be heard together.

The court order comes days after the Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad High Court order allowing scientific survey and carbon-dating of a Shivling reportedly found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi.

"Since the implications of the Allahabad High Court order that allowed carbon dating of the Shivling merit closer scrutiny, the implementation of the directions concerned in the order shall stand deferred till the next date," the bench said.

The bench also issued notices to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Hindu petitioners on the mosque panel's plea against the high court order for the scientific survey and carbon dating of Shivling.

The apex court was hearing a plea challenging the high court order of conducting a scientific survey to determine the age of the structure claimed to be a Shivling in the mosque in Varanasi using modern technology.

On May 12, the Allahabad high court ordered the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct carbon dating of what Hindu religious groups have claimed is a shivling inside the Gyanvapi mosque, without causing any harm to the structure.

The Muslims, however, say it is part of a fountain in the 'wazu khana', where ablutions are performed before namaz.