Varanasi court to ASI: Hand over to DM evidence found during Gyanvapi survey
The court passed the order on a bunch of three applications filed by Rakhi Singh, plaintiff number 1 in Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case on different dates last month
VARANASI: The Varanasi district court on Wednesday ordered the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to submit all objects related to Hindu religion and worship found during the ongoing survey in Gyanvapi mosque, to the district magistrate or an officer nominated by the DM.
District magistrate of Varanasi S Rajalingam said, “The order of the district court will be complied with. Additional district magistrate (protocol) has been nominated for it. He will receive whatever objects the ASI hands over and keep them safe. The objects will remain in our custody.”
The court passed the order on a bunch of three applications filed by Rakhi Singh, plaintiff number 1 in Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case on different dates last month.
“Considering all the facts of this case and keeping in mind that at present, the site in question is being surveyed scientifically by the Archaeological Survey of India, it seems appropriate that in the survey being conducted by the Archeological Survey of India, whatever objects and materials are obtained from the site in question, which are related to the facts of this case or are related to Hindu religion and worship system or from historical or archaeological point of view and may be important in the disposal of the case, be handed over by ASI to the district magistrate or an officer nominated by him who will keep them safe and they (objects) will be presented before the court whenever the court summons them,” read the order by the court.
The court ordered the ASI to make a list of all the material found during the survey in Gyanvapi mosque complex, to file a copy of that list in court and also hand over a copy to the district magistrate.
Counsel for Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, advocate Mumtaz Ahmad said they would go through the order. It would be discussed with the committee members and then with the committee’s advocates in higher courts.
On August 2, on behalf of Singh, her counsels advocate Maan Bahadur Singh, advocate Saurabh Tiwari and advocate Anupam Dwivedi filed an application in the Varanasi district court, seeking an order to secure the entire Gyanvapi complex to protect signs/symbols found during court mandated survey on the premises in May 2022.
In her application, Singh alleged that those who kept visiting the Gyanvapi premises tried to delete/wipe out the symbols/signs of followers of Sanatana dharma present there.
Her counsel Anupam Dwivedi said, “Several important signs/symbols were found during the survey of the mosque last year. These are very important evidences. We filed the application in the court, urging the court to secure the entire Gyanvapi premises to preserve all signs/symbols, which are very important evidences for the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case.”
Akhlaque Ahmad, a counsel for the AIMC, said, “The allegations (by the plaintiff) are baseless.”
On August 11, Singh filed a fresh application in the court of Varanasi district judge seeking sealing of certain portions inside the Gyanvapi mosque premises and also regulating the number of people who offered namaz there to protect the existing Hindu signs and symbols.
The application also sought an order to restrain Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee from painting the Gyanvapi premises so that no damage could be done to the existing Hindu religious signs and symbols there.
Saurabh Tiwari and Anupam Dwivedi, the counsel for Rakhi Singh, filed the application. “Through our application, we prayed to the court to issue an order to respondent authorities to seal and protect certain portions of Gyanvapi premises to protect Hindu signs and symbols found there during the previous advocate commissioner’s survey,” advocate Saurabh Tiwari said.
Tiwari said that he filed a similar application in court on August 11. The court passed the order and disposed of all three applications on Thursday.
