Object found in Gyanvapi Mosque to be protected: Varanasi Court rejects Hindu groups' plea

Varanasi: The Varanasi Court has rejected a plea by the Hindu worshippers for a direction to conduct a scientific investigation into a structure found in the pond of the Gyanvapi Mosque, calling it a Shiv Linga.

The Court rejected the plea on the basis of the Supreme Court order that said the spot, where the alleged structure was found during the survey held in the mosque premises, be protected as contended by the Anjuman Masjid committee.

The said structure, claimed by the Hindu groups as 'Shiv Linga', is said to have been used as a 'Fauwara/Fountain' in the pond where worshippers take ablution before praying, argued the Anjuman Masjid committee.

"It will not be appropriate to direct the Archaeological Survey of India to determine the age, and nature of the 'Shiva Linga' and there is no possibility for the determination of the questions involved in the suit by way of this order," the Live Law quoted the Varanasi Court as said.

District Judge AK Vishvesha today rejected Hindu worshippers' plea after hearing the objections of the Anjuman Intezamia Committee (which manages Gyanvapi mosque) objected to the plea moved by Hindu worshippers, the Live Law reported.

Advocate Mumtaz Ahmed, the counsel for the Mosque, said that the object is very likely to be damaged in the carbon dating process that it in turn would be a defiance of the Supreme Court order.

The Muslim side has also put that the structure in question has nothing do with the original case which is about Hindus demand to worship Shringar Gauri situated on the mosque premises.

The claims regarding the Shiva Linga's presence within the Gyanvapi Mosque premises were made prominently on May 16 when the court-appointed Advocate Commissioner had submitted that he had found a Shiva Linga inside the Gyanvapi Mosque premises during the survey. Pursuant to this, the Court had ordered to seal off the place/area concerned, according to the Live Law.