A Varanasi Court today has directed to appoint a commissioner in the highly disputed Kashi Vishwanath Temple – Gyanvapi Masjid case. The judge in his order said that appointed authority shall visit the temple-mosque complex on April 19 and conduct a due videography coverage of the premises.
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple – Gyanvapi Masjid dispute is currently pending in Allahabad High Court. The deployment of heavy security forces during the commissioner’s visit to the disputed complex has been advised by the court..
The Varanasi Court’s order came almost six months after the Allahabad HC stayed the Varanasi lower court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a comprehensive physical survey of the Gyanvapi mosque compound located adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi.
On April 8, the lower court had ordered an ASI survey to investigate the premises of the mosque to decide on the pleas that alleged mosque was built by the Mughal emperor after he demolished a Hindu shrine partially.
The order was done on a plea that demanded restoration of the land where Gyanvapi mosque stand to.However, this petition was opposed by the Gyanvapi Mosque Management Committee called the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM).
A suit was filed in year 1991 that sought restoration of the ancient temple at the site where the Gyanvapi Mosque currently stands.The petitioners had claimed that the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, in 1664, destroyed the temple and built a mosque on its remains