Gyanvapi Case: Varanasi Court Rejects Hindu Party's Petition for Expanded ASI Survey

The Hindu side has suffered a major setback in the Gyanvapi case. The Varanasi court did not allow the ASI survey of the remaining parts of the Gyanvapi complex. The Hindu side had argued in the petition that there is a Shivling of Adi Visheshwar under the main dome of the mosque, so an ASI survey is required in the entire area including the Shivling in Wazukhana. It was argued in the petition that the previous investigation was incomplete, so a complete investigation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was required in the entire complex.

Hindu party’s lawyer Vijay Shankar Rastogi said that the area where the Hindu side is claiming to have a Shivling was not surveyed last time. Therefore, there is a need to get the entire Gyanvapi complex surveyed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Rastogi said, “We will challenge this decision in the High Court.” Speaking to news agency ANI, Vijay Shankar Rastogi said, “The court has rejected our application for additional survey of the protection of the entire Gyanvapi area by the ASI… We will go to the High Court against this decision…”

Following the district court's order of July 21, 2023, the ASI conducted a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi complex located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple to determine whether the mosque was built over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple. The ASI submitted its survey report to the district court in a sealed envelope on December 18, 2023. The court had ordered the survey after Hindu petitioners claimed whether the 17th-century mosque was built over the remains of a pre-existing temple.