Gyanvapi Mosque: Allahabad HC Judge Recuses from Hearing Plea Seeking Survey of ‘Wazukhana’ Area

The Allahabad High Court judge Justice Manish Kumar Nigam on Wednesday recused himself from presiding over a plea challenging the Varanasi district court’s decision not to instruct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the ‘wazukhana’ area, excluding the ‘Shivling’ inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

The court directed that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice for the appointment of another judge, setting January 31 as the next date of hearing. The revision petition was lodged by Rakhi Singh, one of the plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri worshipping suit presently under consideration before the Varanasi district court.

In her application before the Varanasi court, rejected on October 21, 2023, Singh argued that surveying the wazukhana, excluding the ‘Shivling,’ is essential to determine the religious character of the property. However, the district judge, in his order, noted that the apex court on May 17, 2022, had mandated the proper protection of the area where the ‘Shivling’ was claimed to be found. Consequently, directing the ASI to survey the area would be in violation of this order.

On July 21 last year, the Varanasi district court had instructed the ASI to conduct a ”detailed scientific survey”—including excavations, where necessary—to establish whether the mosque near the Kashi Vishwanath temple was constructed on a temple site. The survey would exclude the mosque’s ”wazukhana,” where Hindu litigants claimed the existence of a ‘Shivling,’ in adherence to a previous Supreme Court order protecting that specific spot in the mosque complex.

Hindu activists assert that a temple previously stood at the site, demolished in the 17th century on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.