Plea in court seeks preservation of ‘Hindu symbols’ in Gyanvapi mosque

High Court order on ASI survey today

Written by Asad Rehman

Lucknow | Updated: August 3, 2023 08:04 AM IST

3 min read

preservation of ‘Hindu symbols’ in Gyanvapi mosque, Varanasi, Gyanvapi Mosque, Gyanvapi mosque case, Lucknow news, Uttar Pradesh, Indian Express, current affairs

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The Vishwa Vedic Sanathan Sangh has filed an application in the Varanasi district court, seeking “preservation” of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The application, moved by Rakhi Singh who is among the founding members of the outfit, stated that members of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which oversees the functioning of the Gyanvapi mosque, keep visiting the mosque premises and “is tampering with the historical evidence present there that are related to the Hindu religion and were found during the court ordered survey” in May last year.

“On July 24, when the ASI survey was done between 7 am and 12 noon, the mosque committee had locked the gate of the so-called mosque and refused to give the key to the ASI, which makes it clear that the committee is attempting to destroy evidence related to the Hindu religion,” the application stated. Advocate Rajesh Mishra, the special counsel in the Gyanvapi-related cases in the district court, said District and Sessions Judge Dr Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha may take up the application on Friday.

Rakhi Singh is the niece of Vishwa Vedic Sanathan Sangh chief Jitender Singh Vishen and was among the five women who had filed a case in a Varanasi court that led to a videographic survey of the premises in May last year. On May 23 this year, after the district court ordered the consolidation of the seven cases related to Gyanvapi mosque, Singh withdrew from the case.

ALSO READ | Gyanvapi case: A look at labyrinth of litigation in flaring Varanasi row

In a separate PIL moved by the Vishwa Vedic Sanathan Sangh before the Allahabad High Court, it has sought directions to seal the Gyanvapi mosque premises so that “no damage can be done to Hindu symbols present inside the premises”. Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday is scheduled to pronounce its order on an application filed by the Gyanvapi mosque committee challenging a Varanasi court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a scientific survey of the mosque.

Last month, Varanasi District court directed the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the mosque to ascertain whether the “present structure” was “constructed over a pre-existing Hindu temple”.

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

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