Petition filed in Varanasi court seeks ASI survey of entire Gyanvapi mosque area

Varanasi: A petition has been filed in a court here on Tuesday seeking an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the entire premises of the Gyanvapi complex, and not only the "shivling" as ordered by the Allahabad High Court.
The court has fixed May 22 for the next hearing in the case. The court has also given time till May 19 to the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee to file objections to the fresh petition filed by the Hindu side. A copy of the application was also given to the Masjid Committee.
The petition was filed after the Allahabad High Court on Friday had ordered the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the alleged shivling-like structure that was found in the Gyanvapi complex by the ASI last year.
Now, the Hindu side has come up with a fresh demand of conducting a survey of the entire complex instead of restricting it to the 'shivling' alone.
Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, on behalf of six petitioners, has requested a survey of the entire area.
"We had filed an application that the whole premises of the alleged mosque should be surveyed using Ground Penetrating Radar. Today, District Court, Varanasi has directed Anjuman Intezamia, UP govt to file its objection in court by May 19, next hearing May 22," Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain told the reporters.
The petition has been filed on behalf of Ram Prasad Singh, Mahant Shiv Prasad Pandey, Lakshmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak
The Allahabad High Court on Friday, allowed the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct carbon dating of alleged 'Shivling', which was found during the survey in the Gyanvapi Mosque campus.
The 'Wazu' area of the Gyanvapi mosque is the centre of the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute between Hindus and Muslims since the Hindu parties claim that 'Shivling' has been found in that spot, however, the Muslim side disputed the same and said that it is only a water fountain.
On May 20, 2022, the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of the case related to worship at Gyanvapi mosque from the civil judge to the district judge, Varanasi. On May 17, 2022, in an interim order, the top court directed the authorities to protect the 'Wazu' area where the 'Shivling' was reportedly found and granted access to Muslims for namaz. (ANI)