The Allahabad High Court is set to hear the Gyanvapi mosque case today, focusing on a petition seeking an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the Wazukhana—an area currently sealed by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had ordered the sealing of the Wazukhana after a controversial structure was discovered during a court-mandated survey in May 2022. The Hindu side claims the structure is a Shivling, while the Muslim side maintains it is a water fountain.
The discovery occurred during a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, situated next to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Since then, the area has been a point of legal contention. Earlier this year, the Hindu petitioners had approached the Supreme Court, requesting that the Wazukhana area be de-sealed.
Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) expressed strong concern over the growing number of claims on Islamic religious structures across India. In a statement released on November 28 last year, the AIMPLB said:
“It is deeply unfortunate and shameful that, after the claims on Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, Shahi Eidgah in Mathura, Bhojshala Mosque in Madhya Pradesh, Teele Wali Masjid in Lucknow, and Sambhal’s Jama Masjid, a claim has now been made on the historic Ajmer Dargah. Despite the provisions of the law, the court has accepted Vishnu Gupta’s petition for a hearing and issued notices to the parties.”
The statement, made by SQR Ilyas, National Spokesperson for the Board, called such claims a “blatant mockery of the law and the Constitution.”
The AIMPLB particularly criticized a civil court in Ajmer for accepting a petition that claimed the Ajmer Dargah to be the Sankat Mochan Mahadev Temple.
The petition regarding the ASI survey of the Wazukhana was filed on October 22, 2023, in the Allahabad High Court by plaintiff Rakhi Singh. The court’s decision on this sensitive matter is being closely watched by both sides.