The Muslim side has filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding a stay on the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi campus. The ban has been imposed till 5 pm on Wednesday
AMN / WEB DESK
The Supreme Court has put a stay on ASI survey to determine whether the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi was built upon a temple. The stay will be in effect until July 26. The mosque committee will now move the High Court.
The archaeological survey of India ASI started the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi today. Later the survey was stopped till 5 pm of 26 July after the supreme court order. The survey was conducted after the directions of a local Varanasi court in Gyanvapi- Shringar Gauri case. The team of ASI reached the premises of Gyanvapi Mosque today morning around 7:00 a.m to conduct the survey.
The apex court said Allahabad High Court that order shall not be enforced till July 26. In the meantime, SC directed the mosque committee to move to Allahabad High Court.
The survey was being conducted with the aim to ascertain whether the mosque was built on the remains of a temple.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions made by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, who appeared in the court on behalf of the mosque committee, stayed the operation of the order till Wednesday evening and asked the committee to file an appeal in the meantime.
On Supreme Court’s order, Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi mosque case, says “The SC has passed a stay on the execution of the order of the Varanasi court on survey of the Mosque complex to allow the Anjum to challenge the same before the High Court…Our legal team is reaching High Court and we will oppose this. The truth of Gyanvapi will only come out after the survey of ASI. The High Court will decide the matter unaffected by any observations of the Supreme Court, Allahabad HC will decide the matter on its own merit”
“We will abide by the court order,” says DM Varanasi said after Supreme Court’s order.
Meanwhile security has been enhanced in and around the Gyanvapi mosque premises. LAST WEEK a local court of Ajay Krishna Vishvesh has ordered the ASI to explore the possibilities of the survey of the premises barring the controversial WazuKhana area and submit the report by 4th August which is also the next hearing of the case.