HC resumes hearing mosque committee’s appeal against ASI survey in Gyanvapi complex

PTI, Jul 27, 2023, 3:53 PM IST

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday resumed hearing a plea against a Varanasi district court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a survey to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque was built upon a temple.

The matter was listed for hearing in the court of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker.

The court on Wednesday extended the stay on the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises till Thursday.

During the hearing on Wednesday, a senior ASI official was present in the court. The official told the court that the ASI team was not going to ”destroy the structure (mosque)” in any way.

After hearing the plea by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, Chief Justice Diwaker posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday. The court ordered that the stay on the ASI survey will continue till then.

The mosque committee had moved the high court on July 25, a day after the Supreme Court halted the ASI survey till 5 pm on Wednesday, allowing time for the committee to appeal against the lower court’s order.