Varanasi court sacks Gyanvapi survey commissioner for ‘leaking to media’

The team appointed by a Varanasi court to survey the premises of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex has been given two days to submit its report before the court.

The civil court in Varanasi, which was hearing the case, removed one of the three commissioners it had appointed – Ajay Mishra. Mishra’s assistant had reportedly leaked info about the survey to the media.

The two others – Vishal Singh and Ajay Pratap – will continue as Court Commissioner and Deputy Court Commissioner respectively.

The Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, next to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, is embroiled in a long-drawn legal battle. A court in Varanasi directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to probe the structure of the mosque after claims were made of the mosque being built after demolishing a temple.

Several petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court, Allahabad High Court and Varanasi Court alleging that the mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb by demolishing the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the 16th century.

THE GYANVAPI CASE AND THE ORIGINAL PETITION
A petition was filed in 1991 in the Varanasi court where the petitioners and local priests sought permission to worship in the Gyanvapi Mosque complex.

The petitioners said that the mosque was built on the orders of Aurangzeb by demolishing a part of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple during his reign in the 16th century.

WHEN WAS THE CASE REVIVED?
A Varanasi-based lawyer, Vijay Shankar Rastogi, filed a petition in the lower court claiming illegality in the construction of the Gyanvapi Masjid and sought an archaeological survey of the mosque. This came in December 2019 after the Supreme Court verdict in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute in Ayodhya.