Varanasi: A court here Friday reserved its order for July 21 on a petition seeking a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The petition filed in the case by the Hindu side had sought a direction to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to survey the entire Gyanvapi mosque complex.
“We had put before the court the demand for an archaeological and scientific investigation of the entire Gyanvapi complex except the ‘vaju khana’. After hearing both sides, the court reserved the verdict for July 21,” said Vishnu Shankar Jain, the counsel for the Hindu side.
Jain said he argued that the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque dispute can be resolved only by an archaeological investigation of the entire mosque complex.
He said that the situation can become clear after examining the three domes of the Gyanvapi complex, the western wall of the complex and the entire complex in a modern way.
“The Muslim side argued before the court that the archaeological survey could damage the complex, on which we placed before the court a demand for investigation in a modern way without damaging the premises,” Jain added.
Earlier, in May, the Muslim side filed its objection to a petition seeking a direction to the ASI to survey the entire Gyanvapi mosque complex.
After an Allahabad High Court order, the Varanasi district court had May 16 agreed to hear a plea for a survey by the ASI of the entire mosque premises.
PTI