
A court in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, ordered the distribution of the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) scientific survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque. The court’s decision came in response to an application by Advocate Vijai Shankar Rastogi, filed on January 4, seeking the ASI report on the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.
The lawsuit, titled ‘Ancient Idol Swayambhu Lord Vishweshwar and others Vs Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committe and others,’ was initiated in 1991 by Harhar Pandey and two others. It aims to secure worshiping rights within the Gyanvapi Masjid complex and the removal of the mosque. The case is currently pending in the fast-track court of civil judge (senior division) in Varanasi.
Rastogi filed the application as the next friend of Lord Visheshwar, representing someone unable to appear in court. The court ordered the distribution of the ASI report to the involved parties, as confirmed by standing government counsel Amit Kumar Srivastava, representing ASI.
The ASI report, submitted in the Varanasi district court on December 18, 2023, revealed that a substantial Hindu temple existed before the construction of the Gyanvapi Masjid. Although the trial for the original civil suit filed in 2021 regarding the Hindu-Muslim dispute over the Gyanvapi mosque is yet to commence, the ASI’s findings were made public on Thursday by lead lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who represents four Hindu women plaintiffs seeking regular worshiping rights in the mosque complex.
Earlier, on January 24, ASI had submitted its survey report in a sealed envelope to the court of civil judge (SD). The court, on January 4, directed ASI to submit the report by January 19, granting an extension until January 25, based on Rastogi’s application seeking compliance with an Allahabad high court order.