Gyanvapi line: The bench has scheduled a hearing for December 17 and will also hear other related petitions, including one seeking to consolidate all the suits and transfer them from the Varanasi district court to the Allahabad high court.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Gyanvapi Masjid Committee on a plea filed by Hindu worshipers seeking an archaeological survey of India (ASI) investigation of the sealed area of ​​the mosque in Varanasi, where a ‘Shivlinga’ was allegedly found.

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A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan issued a notice to the management committee, Anjuman Intezemia Masajid, which manages the Gyanvapi Mosque, regarding the application by the worshippers.

The bench has scheduled a hearing for December 17 and will also hear other related petitions, including one seeking to consolidate all the suits and transfer them from the Varanasi district court to the Allahabad high court.

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The application argued that since part of the building was sealed by an interim order in May 2022, confirmed by another order in November 2022, the ASI had not been able to survey the sealed area, which is said to contain crucial evidence for the case.

“It is submitted that there is important evidence and material relating to the temple within the sealed area and that is important evidence to decide the case. That part of the building in question also needs to be inspected by the ASI in the same manner as the remaining area of ​​the building in question has been investigated using various scientific techniques contained in the report dated December 18, 2023,” the application said, PTI reported.

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The petitioners requested that the sealed portion of the mosque be examined by the ASI using scientific methods, as was done for other areas of the property. They also urged the court to modify the interim order to allow for this investigation.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had stayed the carbon dating of the ‘Shivling’, delaying the implementation of the Allahabad High Court’s directions on the matter. The Supreme Court had earlier allowed a scientific examination of the ‘Shivling’ in the Gyanvapi complex under the supervision of the District Magistrate of Varanasi, but the Supreme Court in its judgment stayed this, saying that the implications of the order required a closer examination.

The “Shivling” controversy arose during a court-ordered inspection of the Gyanvapi Mosque on 16 May 2022, with the Hindu side claiming the object was a “Shivling” and the Muslim side claiming it was a “fountain”. The Supreme Court had earlier quashed a Varanasi district magistrate who dismissed a petition for a scientific survey and carbon dating of the structure.