Updated on Jan 31, at 3.41 p.m.

In a remarkable judgment, the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case has been granted the right to worship in the sealed basement or ‘Vyas ka Tehkhana’ by the district court.

The court also issued orders to the district administration to make the necessary arrangements for the same.

It is noteworthy that this complex had been sealed since 1993.

Updated on Jan 28, at 12.38 p.m.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has refuted claims that Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which conducted a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises in Varanasi and submitted a survey report in the district court earlier, found evidence of a Hindu temple there.

In a statement, AIMPLB executive member Qasim Rasool Ilyas said the ASI report is not “conclusive evidence” in this controversial case.

“By doing this, the opposition party (Hindu side) has created a feeling of anarchy and insecurity in the society,” he said, while also accusing the Hindu side of “insulting” the court by releasing the ASI report in the media.

Meanwhile, an office bearer of the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC), which manages Gyanvapi mosque, said he will not speak about the Archaeological Survey of India's survey report until he himself and his legal team have read it (the report) properly.

Updated on Jan 26, at 2.20 p.m.

A large Hindu temple existed at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi now stands, the Hindu side in the dispute said on Jan 25, citing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report.

The report, submitted to the court recently, was made available to both sides on Jan 25.

Addressing a press conference, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who represents the Hindu side in the courts, read out portions of the survey report, which, he said, suggest the existence of a large Hindu temple structure there earlier.

“The ASI findings suggest that modifications were made to the mosque, reusing pillars and plaster with minor alterations. Some pillars from the Hindu temple were slightly modified for use in the new structure. Attempts were made to remove the carvings on the pillars,” he claimed, citing the ASI report.

He also said that nearly three dozen inscriptions at the purported ancient temple, in Devanagari, Telugu, and other language scripts, were also noted by the ASI.

Varanasi DM takes custody of Gyanvapi cellar as its receiver

In compliance with the January 17 order of the district judge court, District Magistrate S Rajalingam has completed the process of taking the southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque under his custody as the receiver. 

As a representative of district magistrate , ADM (protocol) Prakash Chand reached the Gyanvapi mosque to attend a meeting with plaintiff and head priest of Acharya Ved Vyas Peeth temple Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas, his advocates and representatives of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM).

Chief executive officer of Kashi Vishwanath Dham Sunil Verma was also present.

Later, the official entered the mosque premises and completed the basic formalities, including measurement of the southern cellar and displaying a notice board mentioning its custody by the receiver.

The process was completed prior to the hearing on Vyas suit, in which district Judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesha on Jan 17 had ordered to appoint the DM of Varanasi as the receiver of the southern cellar of the mosque.

The court, on Thursday, fixed January 29 as the next date of hearing in this case, said Vyas’s advocate Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi.

In an earlier hearing on Jan 4, ASI requested Varanasi court to seal Gyanvapi survey report for four more weeks

(Source: IANS)

- Edited for style

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