Varanasi court rejects Hindu side's plea for survey through excavation in Gyanvapi complex

Varanasi (UP): A court in Varanasi on Friday rejected a petition by the Hindu side seeking a survey through excavation in the entire Gyanvapi complex.

The lawyer representing the Hindu side, Madan Mohan Yadav, said Civil Judge Senior Division Jugal Kishore Shambhu rejected the petition.

Following a July 2023 order of the district court, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises, located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple here, to determine whether the mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.

The ASI submitted its survey report to the district court in a sealed cover on December 18.

The survey was ordered by the court after the Hindu petitioners claimed that the 17th-century mosque was built over a pre-existing temple.