India's top court dismisses Muslim plea challenging scientific survey of Gyanvapi mosque

The Supreme Court of India on Friday (August 4) dismissed the Muslim side's plea challenging the Allahabad High Court order of allowing archaeological survey by the ASI of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh.Theapex court permitteda scientific surveyof the Gyanvapi mosque compound in Varanasi.

Supreme Court declines to stay the scientific survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) of the Gyanvapi mosque premises.

Supreme Court says that ASI has clarified that the entire survey would be completed without any excavation and without causing any damage to the… pic.twitter.com/Q2lF2uOkRD — ANI (@ANI) August 4, 2023

Earlier in the day, ateam of ASI officials reached inside the premises of the 17th-century mosque and started the scientific survey to find whether any structure of a Hindu temple existed in the same place.

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The survey started amid tight security arrangements on the Godaulia-Maidagin route, a day after the Allahabad High Court upheld the Varanasi district court's order in this regard and gave its nod to the ASI to conduct the survey after ensuring that no damage will be caused to the structure during the exercise.

Survey necessary in the interest of justice:High Court

On Thursday (August 3)the Allahabad High Court granted permission to the ASI for examining the Gyanvapi mosque compound in Varanasi.

"In the opinion of the Court, the scientific survey/investigation proposed is necessary in the interest of justice and shall benefit the plaintiffs and defendants alike and come in aid of the trial court to arrive at a just decision. The (trial) court was justified in passing the impugned order," said the bench, in its 16-page verdict.

Mosque committee refuses to participate in survey

The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, representing the Muslim community, will abstain from the survey, similar to their stance on July 24 when the Supreme Court halted the survey.

The committee's joint secretary, SM Yasin, stated that the High Court has instructed the ASI to conduct the survey of Gyanvapi Masjid without causing any harm to the mosque.

“The Anjuman Intazamiya Masjid appealed against the order in the Supreme Court on Thursday,” he stated while appealing to the officials to postpone the survey.

Also watch |India: Allahabad High Court gives nod to ASI for Gyanvapi Mosque's survey, top court to hear plea

What is the historical background of Gyanvapi mosque?

The foundational premise of all legal proceedings is that a Hindu temple was razed in the past and supplanted by a mosque at the very same site.

The most recent episode of destruction is attributed to the era of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's rule. Historian Satish Chandra recounted in his book Medieval India: From Saltanat to the Mughalsthat Aurangzeb commanded the demolition of the temple as a punitive measure and due to his perception of it as a wellspring of dissenting ideas.

This resulted in the obliteration of multiple temples, subsequently replaced by mosques, as elucidated in Chandra's writings.

The temple encountered devastation on at least two prior occasions. In 1194 CE, it faced an assault by Aibak, and during the brief and tumultuous reign of Queen Raziya (1236-1240), the location was seized, culminating in the construction of a mosque, as underscored by historian Meenakshi Jain in her book Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples.

The temple was reconstructed during Akbar's rule, only to be demolished again during Aurangzeb's reign. Curiously, a portion of the temple was deliberately preserved as the rear wall of the mosque, which paradoxically earned the name Gyanvapi mosque, denoting the sacred site it occupied.

Currently, the Gyanvapi Mosque and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple coexist in close proximity, emblematic of their intricate history of ruination and subsequent reconstruction.

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