Can a survey take place inside the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple? A court in Varanasi will deliver its verdict on the matter today afternoon.
The court had ordered an inspection in April this year on petitions by five Hindu women asking for year-long access to pray at a Hindu shrine behind the western wall of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi.
The site is currently opened for prayers once a year. The women also want permission to pray to other “visible and invisible deities within the old temple complex”. The local court had earlier directed the authorities to submit a report by May 10.
The survey started last Friday but has not been fully completed because of a dispute over videography inside the mosque. The caretaker committee of the Gyanvapi mosque and its lawyers have said they are opposed to any videography inside the mosque. But the lawyers for the petitioners have claimed they had the court’s go-ahead.
The court will also decide today whether to replace the commissioner overseeing the survey and whether videography will be permitted inside the mosque.