A Varanasi district court has scheduled February 15 as the hearing date for a petition requesting an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of all closed cellars in the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The petitioner, Rakhi Singh, a founding member of the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh, is seeking an investigation into the alleged “secret cellars” to uncover the complete truth about the Gyanvapi mosque’s history, which Hindus claim was built on the remnants of a pre-existing temple.
Madan Mohan Yadav, the lawyer representing the Hindu side, disclosed that it was claimed there are eight basements in the Gyanvapi complex that have not been surveyed previously. He emphasized that a 1991 high court order had mandated the remaining survey to be conducted.
However, the Gyanvapi mosque management committee opposed the demand for a survey, asserting that there was no such high court order. They argued against the basis for ordering a survey of the remaining basements. Following arguments from both sides, the district court has set the next date for the hearing.
Rakhi Singh, also a main petitioner in the Maa Shringar Gauri case, urged the court to grant permission for an ASI survey of all closed cellars in the Gyanvapi mosque complex, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. A petition, including a map of the closed basements, has been submitted.
Earlier, the Allahabad High Court declined to grant an interim stay on a Varanasi court order allowing Hindu prayers in ‘Vyas Ji ka Tehkhana,’ a cellar in the Gyanvapi mosque basement. The court maintained that unless the January 17 order is challenged, no action can be taken. This decision followed the performance of prayers at the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Masjid for the first time in three decades, sanctioned by a local court.
In response to these developments, the Hindu side filed a fresh plea on Monday, demanding an ASI survey of the remaining basements in the Gyanvapi mosque premises. The controversy continues to unfold as legal proceedings progress.
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