By
Rajesh Pandey
In view of the apex court’s directive dated December 12 restraining the courts across the country from passing orders on lawsuits relating to religious places, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday adjourned till February 24, 2025, the hearing of the two petitions requesting the court to direct the archaeological survey of India (ASI) to undertake further survey of Gyanvapi mosque premises of Varanasi.
The order was passed by Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on a civil revision filed by Rakhi Singh, one of the plaintiffs before the Varanasi court. The revision has been filed challenging the Varanasi district judge’s order dated October 21, 2023, refusing to direct the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to undertake a survey of the Wazukhana area except for the ‘Shiva Linga’ inside the Gyanvapi Mosque.
On Wednesday, when the case was taken up, the counsel for petitioner Saurabh Tiwari placed before the court an interim order granted by the apex court on December 12, 2024 in writ petition (civil) no – 1246 of 2020 (Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay vs. Union of India and others), wherein the apex court had directed that though fresh suits may be filed, no suits would be registered and no proceedings shall be undertaken therein till further orders
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In the same order, the apex court further directed that no court will pass any effective interim orders or final orders, including orders directing surveys, etc till the next date of hearing/further orders of the apex court. Now, the matter is posted before the apex court on February 17, 2025, for the next hearing.
Keeping the above submissions on record, the court said, “Given the above fact, further hearing of both the connected matters are deferred. List this matter on February 24, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., the court added.
In her revision, Rakhi Singh has pleaded that the survey of the Wuzukhana area is necessary in the interest of justice. It shall benefit the plaintiffs and defendants alike and help the court arrive at a just decision in the suit.
It has also been contended that Varanasi’s district judge, in his October 21 order, failed to exercise the jurisdiction vested in it by law to direct the survey of the Wuzukhana area.
In the revision, it has been said that the ASI survey of the Wuzukhana area is necessary so that the religious character of the entire property can be determined.
The court passed a similar order in the second petition, which is now connected with the first petition. The second petition has been filed through advocate Ajay Kumar Singh, whereby a challenge has been made to the Varanasi court’s October 2024 order rejecting the plea seeing an additional ASI survey of the entire Gyanvapi mosque complex, focusing on the area, the ASI has not already surveyed, including the mosque’s central dome.