Allahabad High Court orders ‘scientific survey’ of ‘shivling’ in Gyanvapi mosque

The Allahabad High Court Friday set aside a lower court order and ordered a “scientific survey”, including carbon dating of the “shivling” said to have been found in the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi.

On May 16 last year, the court-ordered videographic survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque was completed by a Commission appointed by a local court. During the survey proceedings, a structure claimed to be a “shivling” by the Hindu side and a “fountain” by the Muslim side was found to be inside the mosque premises. The videographic survey was conducted on orders from Civil Judge (Senior Division), Varanasi, Ravi Kumar Diwakar on April 8, 2022.

In their petition filed before the Allahabad High Court in November last year, the Hindu petitioners – Laxmi Devi and three others – had challenged the order of Varanasi District Judge on October 14, 2022 rejecting their application for a scientific survey and carbon dating of the “shivling”.

In their plea before the Allahabad High Court, the petitioners had prayed “to make appropriate survey or undertake Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and/or excavation associating the petitioners to find out the nature of construction beneath the Shivlingam discovered on 16.05.2022”.

The petition had further prayed that “to make scientific investigation by carbon dating or otherwise to determine the age, nature and other constituents of the Shivlingam”.

Speaking to The Indian Express on Friday evening, Advocate Hari Shankar Jain, who was representing the Hindu side, said, “The High Court has agreed to our prayer for a scientific probe of the shivling which was found inside the so-called mosque complex. The Muslim side says it is a fountain. We say that it is a shivling. The court has ordered that without any damages to the shivling, analysis and study of the shivling be done.”

The order on Friday was passed by Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra-I.

“The court has set aside the order passed by the District Judge, Varanasi on October 14, 2022. The district judge, in his order, had rejected our prayer for carbon dating analysis and other scientific survey of the shivling,” added Jain.

Senior Advocate Syed Farman Ahmad Naqvi, who represented the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC), said that after discussions with the mosque committee and others, a decision will be reached whether the High Court’s order should be challenged in the Supreme Court. “We will decide it soon,” he said.
“The court has allowed the Hindu side’s petition and has ordered that a scientific investigation, including carbon dating be done on the object found in the mosque premises. The court had earlier sought the opinion of the Archaeological Survey of India, which told the court with some reservations that carbon dating can be done through a new method where the structure won’t be damaged,” added Naqvi.