The mosque is located next to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the case claims that the mosque was built on part of the Hindu structure that was demolished by order of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
The Varanasi District Court today admitted an application for carbon dating of a “shivling” allegedly found in the Gyanvapi Mosque complex here and asked the mosque administration to appeal until the next hearing.
Judge A.K. Vishesh set September 29 as the next hearing date in the matter involving the dispute between Gyanvapi Mosque and Shringar Gauri. The court resumed hearings in the matter today after hearing the case on March 12.
The petition seeks permission from the court to worship daily the idols of Hindu deities that are on an outside wall of the mosque.
Attorney Vishnu Shankar Jain brought the claim for carbon dating of the “Shivling” to court on behalf of the plaintiff women. The judge upheld the lawsuit and set September 29 as the next hearing date on the matter, said district government attorney Rana Sanjeev Singh.
The court did not consider the Muslim side’s request to schedule the next hearing on September 12, eight weeks after the last hearing on the matter, he added.
The Hindu side had previously claimed that the “shivling” was found near the “wazookhana” – a small reservoir used by Muslims to perform ritual ablutions before offering namaz – on the mosque’s grounds. However, the mosque administration had said it was part of the “Wazookhana” fountain system.
Five women have filed the petition to seek permission to worship the idols of Hindu deities that are said to be on an outside wall of the mosque on a daily basis. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee said the mosque is owned by the Waqf. It had previously questioned the durability of the plea. The committee handles the affairs of the mosque.
The mosque is located next to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the revived case claims that the mosque was built on part of the Hindu structure that was demolished by order of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
The Supreme Court had ordered the district court to first rule on upholding the case brought by the five Hindu women to seek permission to pray daily before Shringar Gauri’s idols.
The Mosque Committee had appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that their complaint was untenable because the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991 stipulated that the character of such places should remain as it was at the time of independence. The 1991 law provided an exception only for the land dispute between Ram Janmabhoomi and Babri Masjid.