Gyanapi Mosque: SC revives Gyanvapi panel’s disposed plea amid ASI survey stay
The Supreme Court revived a plea by the Gyanvapi panel, which it had inadvertently disposed of. The Allahabad High Court resumed hearing a plea challenging an order instructing the ASI to survey whether the Gyanvapi mosque was built over a temple.
Supreme Court on Wednesday revives plea of the Gyanvapi panel which it had 'inadvertently' disposed of on July 24 while staying at ASI work on mosque premises on July 24.
As reported by PTI, a bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra acknowledged the arguments presented by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia of the Gyanvapi mosque. Ahmadi stated that the court inadvertently disposed of the main plea during the last hearing, contrary to the interim plea seeking a halt to the ASI work.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Uttar Pradesh government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), stated that he has no objections to the revival of the special leave petition filed by the mosque committee.
In the primary plea, the mosque committee had requested the dismissal of the lawsuit filed by the Hindu party in the Varanasi district court under Order VII Rule 11(c) of the Civil Procedure Code. The plea cited that the filing was done on an inadequately "stamped and authorized" paper as grounds for dismissal.
Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday resumed the hearing of a plea challenging a district court's order, which had instructed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey to ascertain whether the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi was constructed over a temple.
As reported by PTI, Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker heard the arguments in the case on Tuesday and scheduled further proceedings for Wednesday.
Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque controversy: Why archaeological survey of the religious site was requested?
On Tuesday, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, responsible for the management of the mosque, approached the high court after the Supreme Court temporarily suspended the ASI survey until 5 pm on Wednesday, granting the mosque management committee the opportunity to challenge the lower court's directive.
Senior advocate SFA Naqvi, representing the committee, requested Chief Justice Diwaker for an expedited hearing of the case, citing urgency as the apex court's order would expire on Wednesday.
In response, the Chief Justice expressed his willingness to hear the matter if all parties were in agreement.
Vishnu Shankar Jain, the counsel for the respondent representing the Hindu side, highlighted that in the Ram Mandir case, an ASI survey was conducted and accepted by both the high court and the Supreme Court.
Also Read: 'Gyanvapi mosque survey against spirit of Supreme Court,' says petitioner; CJI says THIS...
The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi is situated adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, and Hindu litigants in the district court had requested a survey to ascertain if a temple existed at the same location previously.
On Friday, the Varanasi district court instructed the ASI to carry out a survey using advanced technologies such as ground-penetrating radar and excavations, if required. However, the Supreme Court's order on Monday halted the ongoing survey, which was being conducted by the ASI team inside the mosque complex at the time.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Business NewsNewsIndiaGyanapi Mosque: SC revives Gyanvapi panel’s disposed plea amid ASI survey stay
First Published:26 Jul 2023, 11:44 AM IST
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