Uttar Pradesh: The Supreme Court today refused to order a status quo in the Gyanvapi Masjid case and agreed to hear urgently a petition that challenges the ongoing videography at the mosque.
The refusal followed the petition by lawyer Huzefa Ahmadi which contended that the order to conduct a survey and filming of the mosque premises is at odds with the Places of Worship Act, 1991.
The Varanasi court while hearing the matter on Thursday afternoon said that the survey inside the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple will continue and the report needs to be submitted by May 17. The court had also added two advocates to the survey commission.
Notably, the issue began after a group of women seeking permission to worship idols of Hindu deities located on the outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi submitted a petition to a sessions court. They claimed Gyanvapi Masjid was built on the orders of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb by demolishing a part of the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir in the 17th century.