A civil court in UP’s Varanasi district allowed the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a survey at the disputed site of Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque.
The court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to bear the expenses of the survey.
The ASI has been asked to conduct surveys to find out whether any “superimposition, alteration or addition or structural overlapping / over, took place with any other religious structure.”
The petition is filed by advocate Vijay Shankar Rastogi on behalf of Swayambhu Jyotirlinga Lord Vishweshwar.
The petitioner declared that the land on which the mosque was built belongs to Hindus. The Court has been urged to declare that Hindus have the right to worship and rebuild their temple.
Significantly, the land title dispute is related to the Jnanpith mosque, which was allegedly built on the ruins of the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The Hindu community claims that the mosque, which is located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, was built after the demolition of a part of the said temple.
According to a lawsuit filed by the temple trust in Varnasi District Court in 1991, the temple was destroyed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1664 and the mosque was built using the temple’s remains.
In the instant petition, prohibitory orders have been sought by the Muslim community interfering in the peaceful occupation of the site by Hindus.
The petition was opposed by the Gyanvapi Mosque Management Committee- Anjuman Intazamia Masazid.
