By ANI special correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Indian Supreme Court on Thursday asked the trial court in Varanasi not to proceed with the Gyanvapi Mosque case till Friday. The apex court further said that it will hear the case on Friday at 3 pm.
Vishnu Shankar Jain, the advocate appearing for the Hindu side, told the apex court that senior advocate Hari Shankar Jain is not well and requested it to hear the case tomorrow. In a conversation with reporters today, Vishnu Shankar Jain said, “Advocate Hari Shankar Jain is unwell and will recover by tomorrow. The Trial Court will move forward after the hearing of the Supreme Court.”
“Two proceedings can’t go on simultaneously. I had given an undertaking that since Hari Shankar Jain is unwell and will recover by tomorrow, the matter may be adjourned till tomorrow. Let Supreme Court decide and we will proceed accordingly,” the advocate said.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Muslim side told the Court that there are multiple litigations across the country, there is urgency and it should be heard today itself. Proceedings before the trial court pending for today.
Following this, the Supreme Court asked the trial court in Varanasi not to proceed with the Gyanvapi mosque case till Friday, May 20.
On May 17, the top court had directed the district magistrate of Varanasi to ensure the protection of an area inside the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex where a ‘Shivling’ is said to have been found during a survey and allowed Muslims to offer ‘namaz’ and perform “religious observances”. (ANI)
Sculptures of gods, Sheshnag found
Several sculptures of gods and goddesses alongwith other structures related to Hindu belief were seen in the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, said advocate Ajay Kumar Mishra, who was appointed commissioner by Varanasi court to survey the Gyanvapi-Gauri Shringar complex but was later removed for leaking the information.
The report was submitted by former court-appointed Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra as the Supreme Court is set to resume the hearing of the Gyanvapi mosque case on Wednesday with petitioners contending that the videographic survey carried out of the site was in violation of the Places of Worship Act. The report submitted by Mishra stated, “Outside the barricading of the disputed area, the ruins of the old temple were found in which sculptures of gods and goddesses and patterns of lotus were seen. In the middle, stone sculptures of Sheshnag and “Nag phan” like patterns were seen. All the slabs seemed to be part of a big edifice.”
The local court had removed Advocate Commissioner Ajay Mishra on Tuesday, stating that he had been “highly irresponsible” in executing the work.
“Further four idol like structures with “Sinduri” mark were observed. It seemed that arrangments for lighting diyas were there. The stone slabs with artistic patterns were kept in the west wall behind the mosque appeared to be in the continuity with the big structure,” the report said.
The report by Mishra also mentioned that the three-four sculptures with Sindoor marks and ‘Choukhat’ like stone slab are believed to be ‘Sringar Gouri’.
The Varanasi court-appointed commission which conducted the survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex is expected to submit its report today after it has sought a two-day extension.
The three-day-long court-monitored videography survey of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi concluded on Monday.
The Hindu petitioner in the case, Sohan Lal Arya on Monday claimed that the committee found a Shivling at the complex. Arya, who accompanied the court commission for the mosque survey, said that they have found “conclusive evidence”.
After the conclusion of the survey, the Varanasi court ordered the District Magistrate of Varanasi, Kaushal Raj Sharma, “to seal the area where the Shivling was found and to bar people from going to the place.”
Hearing the Gyanvapi mosque case on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered the Varanasi district magistrate to ensure the area where a shivling was purportedly found is protected without obstructing the Muslim community’s right to worship.
Survey report submitted in Varanasi court
The Court-appointed special assistant commissioner on Thursday submitted a report on the Gyanvapi Mosque survey to a Varanasi court.
“The report has been submitted before the court. People from both sides were present before the court. It is a 10-15 page long report,” said Assistant Court Commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh on Gyanvapi Mosque survey report
“We have filed a video chip too in a sealed cover,” added Advocate Vishal Singh.
“At 4.30 pm yesterday, Ajay Mishra (ex-court appointed commissioner) submitted his report. Today at 10.30 am, Vishal Singh and Ajay Pratap Singh filed their report with details of the three-day survey,” said Advocate Nityanand Rai.
“The Assistant Commissioners have also filed a chip that contains photos, videos. A copy will be made available to the other side. Once they get the copy, the court will invite their objections. After listening to them, the court will give a final decision if the report will be taken as evidence”, added Advocate Rai.
Several sculptures of gods and goddesses along with other structures related to Hindu belief were seen in the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, said advocate Ajay Kumar Mishra, who was appointed commissioner by the Varanasi court to survey the Gyanvapi-Gauri Shringar complex but was later removed for allegedly leaking the information.
The local court had removed Advocate Commissioner Ajay Mishra on Tuesday, stating that he had been “highly irresponsible” in executing the work.
The report by Mishra mentioned that the three-four sculptures with Sindoor marks and ‘Choukhat’ like stone slab are believed to be ‘Sringar Gouri’.
The three-day-long court-monitored videography survey of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi concluded on Monday.
Speaking on the Gyanvapi mosque survey, Advocate Vishnu Jain, representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi mosque matter in Supreme Court said, “We’ve not filed an affidavit yet. SC has kept the matter for hearing today. Additional developments have taken place in the meantime that have to be brought to the records of the court. So, we will seek some time from the court.”
“We’ve requested our legal time there (Varanasi) to take some adjournment today as the matter is pending before SC and we need to place every document on the records. So, simultaneously two proceedings can’t go on,” said Advocate Vishnu Jain.
“As far as the application for demolition of the wall beneath the wazukhana is concerned, we will take some time. The Muslim side is also seeking time to file their objections to our application”, said Advocate Jain.
Hearing the Gyanvapi mosque case on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered the Varanasi district magistrate to ensure the area where a Shivling was purportedly found is protected without obstructing the Muslim community’s right to worship.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the civil court in Varanasi civil court to not proceed with the case related to the Gyanvapi Mosque case till it takes up the case on May 20. (ANI)