Gyanvapi mosque committee moves Supreme Court against Allahabad HC order allowing ASI survey
The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Allahabad high court's decision to allow survey of Gyanvapi mosque.
The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee on Thursday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Allahabad high court's decision to allow survey of Gyanvapi mosque premises.
The plea was mentioned before the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, who said he will look into it and assign a date of hearing.
The high court rejected the petition filed by the mosque committee which challenged the Varanasi district court's July 21 order directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASIP) to survey the Gyanvapi Mosque premises.
The ASI had filed an affidavit stating that the survey will not damage the mosque premises. The high court chief justice while rejecting the petition said there is no reason not to believe what ASI stated in its affidavit.
High court chief justice Pritinker Diwaker had reserved the order on the mosque committee's petition on July 27 after hearing arguments from both the sides. The high court had stayed the ASI survey till Thursday.
Vacating the stay granted earlier, the high court said that the ASI can proceed with the scientific investigation of the area as directed by the Varanasi district court.
The Hindu side's advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said the district court's order on the ASI survey will be effective immediately.
On July 21, the Varanasi court had directed the ASI to conduct a comprehensive survey of the plot where the mosque stands, next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The judge excluded the section where the Hindu side claimed a Shivling was found and the Muslims argued the structure is a part of a fountain.
Hindu activists claim that a temple existed earlier at the site and was demolished in the 17th century on the order of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
