Fresh plea in court for ‘scientific survey’ of Gyanvapi’s sealed area
The plea seeks survey of Gyanvapi mosque’s sealed section, including the ablution area, but not of the structure which the Hindu side has claimed is a ‘shivling’.
A fresh petition was filed in the Varanasi district court on Tuesday seeking a “scientific survey” of the Gyanvapi mosque’s sealed section, including the ablution area, but not of the structure which the Hindu side has claimed is a ‘shivling’, people aware of the matter said.
The section, which includes the ‘wazukhana’ (ablution pond), was sealed after the Supreme Court passed an interim order in May last year directing the Varanasi district magistrate to ensure the protection of the area where the structure, which Hindu side has claimed is a ‘shivling’, was found during a video survey. The Muslim side has maintained that the structure is part of a fountain.
The fresh petition was filed by Rakhi Singh, one of the petitioners in the Gyanvapi case. In the petition, she said that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was conducting a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque without causing any damage to the structure. “Likewise, a scientific survey of the entire wazukhana, excluding the Shivling, should be conducted in similar manner in order to reach the right conclusion,” the application said.
Rakhi Singh’s counsel Saurabh Tiwari said the court has fixed September 8 as the next date of hearing.
“We haven’t got the copy of the application so far. After receiving the application, we will go through it and then our legal team will file an objection,” SM Yasin, joint secretary of the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC), the mosque’s management committee, said.
Line on where the Gyanvapi survey stands now please
