Uttar Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister, Keshav Prasad Maurya, warmly embraced the Allahabad High Court’s decision permitting the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to investigate the Gyanvapi Mosque area. He expressed his optimism that the ASI’s examination will shed light on the truth, resolving the Gyanvapi case much like the Ramjanambhoomi dispute. This decision dismissed the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s plea against the ASI survey of the mosque complex near the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.
Senior advocate Harishankar Jain supported the verdict, saying that the ASI’s fact-finding mission will unravel the truth. He firmly believes in the existence of a hidden ‘shivling’ under the mosque’s main dome and predicts the site’s future transformation into a grand temple.
In contrast, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) urged that the Places of Worship Act be applied to all worship sites in the nation. He voiced hopes for justice, reminding that the mosque has been a site of worship for Muslims for six centuries. On the Hindu side, petitioner Rekha Pathak celebrated this verdict as a triumph for the Hindu community and eagerly anticipates the survey’s truth-revealing outcome.
Following the verdict, Varanasi’s District Magistrate, S Rajalingam, pledged administrative support for the ASI’s survey. The Supreme Court earlier ruled that the survey could proceed after 5 pm on July 26, providing the Muslim side with a window to approach the Allahabad High Court. Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi had previously requested a halt to the ASI survey, pointing to the Supreme Court’s stay on the carbon dating of a structure identified as a ‘shivling’ by the Hindu faction.
