Varanasi Court Allows ASI to Survey Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Gyanvapi Mosque Complex

In a major development, a Varanasi court on Thursday allowed Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex. The court also said that all expenses for the archeological survey to be borne by the Uttar Pradesh government. The order was passed by the Court of Civil judge Senior Division, Varanasi Civil Court.

This comes after a petition was filed by a local lawyer Vijay Shankar Rastogi, who had demanded that the land entailing the Gyanvapi Mosque be restored to Hindus. The petitioner claimed that Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1669 pulled down a portion of the 2000-year-old Kashi Vishwanath temple to build the mosque in its place. The Gyanvyapi Mosque management committee had opposed the petition.

After the Ayodhya-Babri case verdict, the Hindu community strongly believes that this land dispute of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the Gyanvapi mosque will also be solved.