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It is the Hindu worshippers' argument that Gyanvapi was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple and the ASI survey will unravel the truth.
Varanasi District Court on Tuesday directed the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, Varanasi to file its reply/objection, if any, on the plea moved by four Hindu worshippers seeking a survey of the entire Gyanvapi premises by the Archaeological Survey of India, by May 19, 2023.
The Hindu worshippers are seeking an ASI survey of the entire Gyanvapi claiming that it was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple and the ASI survey will unravel the truth.
The application has been filed in the suit pending before the local court for year-round permission to worship Hindu gods inside Gyanvapi. The contention of the plaintiffs in the said suit is that “Asthan Lord Adi Visheshwar, Jyotirlinga” was damaged in 1669 under the orders of Mughal Ruler Aurangzeb but “Maa Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesh and other subsidiary deities” continued to exist within the ancient temple, which is claimed by Muslims to be part of the “Gyanvapi Mosque”.
In recent news, on May 12, 2023, the Allahabad High Court allowed an ASI survey/ scientific survey of the alleged Shivlingam found at Gyanvapi for evaluation of its age.
The high court passed the said order in a revision petition filed by the Hindu plaintiffs against the order of the district judge dismissing their application seeking a scientific probe of the Shivlingam-like structure.
A Shivlingam-like structure was found inside the Wazookhana of the Gyanavpi complex on May 16, 2022, during a survey by the court-appointed commission.
It is the Hindu plaintiffs' claim that the structure found inside the Wazookhana of the mosque complex is a Shivalingam, however, the claim is contested by the Muslim side who argue that it is actually a non-functioning old fountain.
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