Gyanvapi original suit: Court fixes next hearing on Oct 19

Varanasi: The fast-track court of civil judge (Senior division) fixed Oct 19 as the next date of hearing in the Gyanvapi case after a reply was filed against the objections raised by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (Gyanvapi mosque management committee) regarding the demand for an additional survey of Gyanvapi mosque by the plaintiff in the original suit filed in 1991.
The AIM will file its reply against the plaintiff's arguments on the next date.
Advocate Vijay Shankar Rastogi, who is also representing the deity as the next friend and plaintiff in original suit no. 610/1991, Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar vs AIM, stated that he filed his reply against the objection filed by AIM and also the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) in previous hearings, when they strongly opposed his demand for an additional survey of Gyanvapi mosque compound by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),.
"In my reply, I made it clear that the previous survey of the mosque was conducted by ASI in another suit (no. 18/2022 Rakhi Singh and others vs UP state and others, in which five women are seeking worship of Shringar Gauri and other deities inside Gyanvapi mosque compound). In such a case, the ASI submitted an affidavit before the high court stating that it would not cause any harm to the structure," said Rastogi. "As I am also aware of the court's directive that no destruction will take place to disturb the existing Gyanvapi structure, I have asked to create a trench to go beneath the central dome," he added.
After the completion of the hearing, the FTC of civil judge (Senior division) Yughul Shambhu fixed Oct 19 as the next date for hearing, when AIM will file its reply, said Rastogi.
In this original suit no. 610/1991, the court had instructed the ASI to conduct a comprehensive survey on April 8, 2021. The AIM challenged this order in the HC. However, on Dec 19, 2023, the HC dismissed AIM's revision petition disputing the maintainability of the Varanasi court's April 8, 2021 order and directed the ASI to proceed with a thorough survey of the entire Gyanvapi mosque.
As the ASI had already conducted a survey of Gyanvapi in suit no. 18/2022, in which five women plaintiffs sought worship rights for Shringar Gauri and other deities inside the Gyanvapi mosque compound, and submitted its report on Dec 18, 2023, which was unsealed by the court on Jan 24, 2024, the court instructed Rastogi to examine the report. In compliance with the FTC's Dec 30, 2023 order, Rastogi procured a copy of the ASI report, studied it, and subsequently submitted his plea to the FTC in Feb this year.
The petitioner, in his plea, sought an additional survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex by ASI by applying certain methods, including the excavation of a trench to gain access to the sanctum sanctorum of Aadi Vishweshwar temple, where a towering Shivling and an artesian well are claimed to be situated beneath the central dome. The AIM and the UPSCWB had thereafter filed their objections against Rastogi's demand and claims.