The Hindu side of the Gyanvapi mosque case on Monday filed a fresh plea in the court demanding ASI survey of the rest of the basements in the mosque premises.
The petitioner, Rakhi Singh — one of the plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri worshipping suit — filed the application in the lower court of Varanasi. The application said that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should conduct the study after removing the blocked entrance and debris.
In the petition, Singh has claimed some of the basements inside the mosque were not surveyed as their entrances were blocked. Hence, ASI be directed to survey the cellars without causing any damage to the structure, the petition said.
SC TO HEAR PETITION SEEKING SURVEY OF ‘WAZUKHANA’
The Supreme Court, on the other hand, is set to hear a petition demanding the scientific survey of the ‘wazukhana‘ and the surrounding sealed areas of the disputed Gyanvapi mosque complex on Monday.
The wazukhana — an ablution pond where worshippers wash themselves before praying at the mosque) — sealed in 2022 after an order from the apex court. The Hindu side has claimed that the fountain-like structure in the wazukhana is a ‘Shivling’.
The plea also demands another survey by the ASI in the ten cellars inside the mosque complex.
Last week, the Allahabad High Court issued a notice to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee — which managed the Gyanvapi mosque — on a plea challenging the Varanasi court’s refusal to direct the ASI to conduct a survey of the ‘wazukhana’.
The order was passed on a revised petition filed by Rakhi Singh, in which the primary contention was that the survey of the ‘wazukhana’, excluding its portion where a ‘Shivling’ was claimed to be found, is necessary to ascertain the religious character of the property in question.
However, rejecting Singh’s application, the judge observed that in an order passed on May 17, 2022, the apex court had directed to protect the area where the ‘Shivling’ is stated to have been found and therefore, it is not proper to direct the ASI to survey the area.
HINDUS GET RIGHT TO WORSHIP IN MOSQUE BASEMENT
Hindu side petitioners were granted permission to perform puja in the ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ — basement — portion of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, the Varanasi Court said on January 31.
The order was passed by judge AK Vishvesh, who directed the district magistrate to make arrangements for the puja within seven days, counsel Madan Mohan Yadav, adding the prayers will be facilitated by the Kashi Vishwanath Trust.
“There was no basis to stop the puja. The Temple Trust will now get the puja done here, we are very proud of this…This is the first step, if this verdict is opposed, we are ready to answer,” he said.
According to the petition, priest Somnath Vyas and his family used to perform puja there till 1993 when the cellar was shut down by the authorities. Shailendra Kumar Pathak, maternal grandson of Somnath Vyas, had sought the right to worship the deities there.
The Hindu side counsel said the puja of deities was stopped during the rule of chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Meanwhile, the Muslim side argued that the cellar is part of the mosque complex, and hence permission to perform puja there should not be granted.
The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee said that it will challenge the district court’s order in the Allahabad High Court.
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