IN A relief to the Gyanvapi management committee, the Supreme Court on Monday halted till 5 pm of July 26 a “detailed scientific survey” by the ASI to determine if the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built upon a temple, saying, “some breathing time” needed to be granted to appeal a district court order. A Varanasi court had on Friday directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct the survey, including excavations, wherever necessary, to determine if the mosque was built at a place where a temple existed earlier. Taking up the plea moved by the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia of the Gyanvapi mosque for an urgent hearing, the top court directed the Allahabad High Court to hear the appeal before its “status quo” order expires on Wednesday evening.

 

The apex court’s order came at a time when a 30-member team of the ASI was inside the mosque complex to carry out the survey. The survey was immediately stopped after the apex court order. “Having regard to the fact that the order of the District Court was pronounced at 4.30 pm on 21 July 2023 and the survey is in the process of being carried out today, we are of the view that some ‘breathing time’ must be granted to the petitioners to move the High Court for pursuing their remedies. “We direct that the impugned order of the District Court shall not be enforced until 5 pm on 26 July 2023. This shall not be construed as the expression of opinion on the merits,” the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ordered. The top court said the mosque committee was at liberty to move the High Court against the order of the District Judge, Varanasi.