Gyanvapi: Varanasi Court Orders to Provide ASI Survey Report to Both Sides

The Varanasi district court on Wednesday ruled that the ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, will be provided to both sides involved in the temple-mosque dispute, as per counsel for the Hindu litigants.

District Judge A K Vishvesh stated that the parties must submit an affidavit to retain the report privately and refrain from making it public after receiving it.

The Muslim side urged in the court that the survey report should remain with the parties and not be disclosed to the public.

On January 16, the Supreme Court granted the application of Hindu women petitioners seeking directions to clean the entire ‘wazukhana’ area of the Gyanvapi mosque, where an alleged ‘Shivling’ was discovered, and to maintain hygienic conditions.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, ordered that the ‘wazukhana’ area be cleaned under the supervision of the Varanasi district administration, in line with previous apex court orders.

The Gyanvapi mosque management committee expressed support for cleaning the water tank, which had been sealed on the Supreme Court’s orders for nearly two years. The ‘wazukhana’ area was sealed in 2022 following a Supreme Court order after the discovery of what was claimed to be a ‘Shivling’.

The structure, contested as a “Shivling” by the Hindu side and a “fountain” by the Muslim side, was found in the mosque premises on May 16, 2022, during a court-mandated survey of the mosque next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The ‘Wazu’ area of the Gyanvapi mosque is the focal point of the temple-mosque dispute between Hindus and Muslim parties. Hindu parties claim that a ‘Shivling’ was found in that spot, while the Muslim side disputes the claim, asserting that it is only a water fountain.