Varanasi: A Varanasi court on Friday denied a request for an additional Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey at the Gyanvapi complex.
The petition, filed by Vijay Shankar Rastogi, was dismissed by Civil Judge (Senior Division) of the Fast Track Court in Varanasi. Rastogi announced plans to appeal to the High Court following the court’s decision to reject their petition.
Rastogi explained that the petition argued the previous ASI survey was incomplete, failing to cover areas like the Wuzukhana and the central dome. He added that a 2021 High Court directive to form a five-member survey team, including a central university representative, was also not fulfilled.
Lawyer Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, also representing the Hindu side, noted that their request for a more comprehensive survey of the Wuzukhana and central dome was denied.
The Gyanvapi Mosque has been a focal point of controversy, with some claiming it was built on the remains of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Since 1991, numerous petitions, including those in the Supreme Court, Allahabad High Court, and Varanasi District Court, have sought to resolve various aspects of the dispute.
The legal battle dates to a 1991 petition in Varanasi, seeking to restore Gyanvapi land to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, alleging that the mosque was ordered by Aurangzeb, who reportedly demolished part of the temple in the 16th century.
Following the Supreme Court’s 2019 ruling in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case, Rastogi filed a petition, prompting a scientific survey by the ASI and further legal proceedings.
The Allahabad High Court temporarily paused Varanasi court proceedings in 2021, citing the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which prohibits altering the religious character of a place of worship as it stood on August 15, 1947.
