The Allahabad High Court Thursday rejected a plea filed by the Gyanvapi mosque committee seeking a stay on the court-ordered “scientific survey” by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) of the mosque complex.
While rejecting a plea filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, the court ordered that the survey should be conducted by ASI.
The matter was heard by Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker, who had on July 27 said the survey would not be conducted until the High Court passes its order on August 3.
The mosque committee had challenged an order passed on July 21 by a Varanasi court directing ASI to do a “scientific investigation/survey/excavation” of the Gyanvapi mosque premises.
The court had also directed ASI to “find out” whether the “present structure” was “constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple”.
The mosque believed to be built during the Mughal rule is adjacent to Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath temple. The centuries-old mosque, is a target of Hindu nationalist groups after Babri Masjid which was demolished by Hindutva groups.
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