The plea, filed by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, challenges the ongoing videography at the Gyanvapi mosque. The petitioner said that the order to conduct a survey and filming of the masjid premises is at odds with the Places of Worship Act, 1991
A view of the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh. PTI
Gyanvapi mosque case update: A plea challenging a Varanasi court order for continuing survey and filming at the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex has been challenged before the Supreme Court on Friday. The apex court agreed to hear the matter urgently but refused to put stay on the ongoing survey.
The plea, filed by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, challenges the ongoing videography at the Gyanvapi mosque.
The petitioner said that the order to conduct a survey and filming of the masjid premises is at odds with the Places of Worship Act, 1991, a report by NDTV said.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana said he was not aware of what the issue was, as he has not seen the papers. “I don’t know anything, how can I pass an order. I’ll read and then pass orders.. let me see,” Live Law quoted the CJI as saying.
On Thursday, a local court in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh said that the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque will continue and has to be completed by 17 May.
The judicial body also refused to remove court commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra despite reservations from the Gyanvapi mosque management committee.
The court also appointed two more lawyers as commissioners – Ajay Singh and Vishal Singh – to accompany Ajay Mishra for the survey, said Advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, representing Hindu petitioners in court.
Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque survey to continue, report by 17 May
The inspection of the Gyanvapi mosque was in April this year, acting on the petitions by five Hindu women seeking for year-long access to pray at a Hindu shrine behind the western wall of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi.
The religious site is currently opened for prayers once a year but the women want permission to pray to other “visible and invisible deities within the old temple complex”.
The videography-survey and inspection of the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal at Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque complex started on 6 May but has not been fully completed because of a dispute over filming inside the mosque.
Meanwhile, Civil Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who ordered the continuation of the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, expressed safety concerns. He said that an atmosphere of fear is being created and he is worried about his family’s safety.
Must Read: Gyanvapi mosque case: Judge expresses concern about his and family’s safety
“An atmosphere of fear was created by making this civil case into an extraordinary case. The fear is so much that my family is always concerned about my safety and I am concerned about their safety. Concerns about safety are repeatedly expressed by my wife when I am out of the house,” Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar said on Thursday.
There has been a protest over the survey of several deities located in Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath temple premises and Gyanvapi Masjid complex. After the court-appointed commissioner’s survey in Gyanvapi Masjid, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee on 7 May filed an application seeking the removal of the office due to the alleged biasedness over the matter.
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