Gyanvapi mosque case: No change in commissioner, survey to be completed by May 17

NEW DELHI: A Varanasi court on Thursday refused to remove Ajay Kumar Mishra as the court commissioner for the video survey of the Gyanvapi mosque located adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The court said that the survey shall be completed by May 17.
Advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, who is representing the Hindu petitioners in court, told reporters that two more lawyers have been appointed by the court as commissioners to accompany Misha for the survey.
The videography and survey of the mosque was ordered by Judge Diwakar on a plea by Delhi's Rakhi Singh, Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu and others, seeking permission to perform daily worship of deities Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanuman and Nandi whose idols are on the outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque.
The women had moved the court with their plea on April 18, 2021, and also sought a court's order to stop the opponents from causing any damage to the idols.
The counsel for the mosque management committee had earlier contended that the court had not given any order to do the videography inside the mosque but to do it only till the 'chabutra' (courtyard) outside the barricades enclosing the mosque area.
The court commissioner had on Friday conducted an inconclusive survey of some areas outside Gyanvapi Masjid in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex amid brief sloganeering by the two sides.
The Muslim side had accused the court-appointed advocate commissioner of acting in a biased manner, alleging that he had tried to get videography done inside the Gyanvapi mosque without orders and moved the court to replace him.
(With inputs from agencies)