In an important verdict on the Kashi Vishwanath- Gyanvapi issue, the Varanasi district court has accepted the demand of the temple side for scientific investigation of the Gyanvapi complex.

District Judge Dr. Ajay Krishna Vishwesh on Friday, bypassing the objections of the mosque side, ordered the ASI survey of the remaining part of Gyanvapi except the Wujukhana.

Senior lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi Masjid case confirmed to the media that the court has ordered an ASI survey.

Jain said that our application has been accepted excluding the Vaju tank, which has been sealed.

The court has instructed to conduct ASI survey of Gyanvapi Masjid complex and will submit its report to the District Judge on August 4 next.

The order has come on the petition regarding the survey of the campus except Vajusthal .The court of Ajay Krishna Vishwesh has approved the application of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a radar survey of the barricaded area except the sealed warehouse of Gyanvapi in the Maa Shringar Gauri original suit.

According to the order, except the sealed premises, survey of all other places will be done.

An application was given in the court on May 16 on behalf of the four litigants of the Hindu side, Rekha Pathak, Manju Vyas, Lakshmi Devi and Sita Sahu. It was said that except for the sealed Vajukhana in Gyanvapi, the rest of the area should be surveyed by ASI with radar technology.

On May 19, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee objected to this.

The hearing was completed on 14 July. The court then fixed the date of May 21 for the hearing while reserving the file for the order.

Expressing happiness over the application being approved in the district judge’s court, the Hindu side has described it as a big victory. The advocates of the Hindu side argue that the survey will make it clear what is the reality of Gyanvapi. The age of stones, idols, walls and other constructions will be known without causing any damage in the survey.

On the other hand, the opposition Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee has opposed the application for conducting the survey.

On May 12 last, the Allahabad High Court had ordered carbon dating of the Shivling found in the Gyanvapi campus during the action of the Advocate Commissioner.

The lawyers of the temple side said that except the part of Gyanvapi which is sealed on the orders of the Supreme Court, the entire campus should be investigated by scientific method. Opposing this, the mosque side said in the court that this would damage the mosque present there.

The petition was filed in May this year by 5 women who in another plea had earlier sought permission to pray at the “Shringar Gauri Sthal” inside the shrine complex. Later one of the woman backed out.