Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanwapi Mosque dispute: Varanasi court appoints commissioner for inspection

A Varanasi court has appointed commissioners to do an onsite inspection of the Kashi Vishwanath temple and Gyanwapi mosque dispute. The court has given this direction while hearing a plea on the land dispute of Kashi Vishwanath temple on Friday. Civil Judge Junior division of Varanasi has asked the appointed commissioner to visit temple-mosque premises on April 19 and conduct videography there. The commissioner has been asked to submit its report to the court. The court has asked the administration to deploy heavy security during the visit of the commissioner to the disputed complex. A petition was filed in the local court of Varanasi demanding restoration of the land of Gyanwapi mosque to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The petitioners have claimed that in 1964 the temple was destroyed and a mosque was built on its remains. A civil suit to restore the land to the temple was filed in December 2020. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM), a committee looking after the Gyanwapi mosque, had opposed the petition.

After hearing arguments of both the parties, the court directed to appoint commissioner and sought report after the site inspection. The petitioner had sought direction from the court regarding inspection, radar study and videography of the complex. It may be mentioned that two separate cases in this regard are pending in the Allahabad High Court. Earlier the Varanasi court had asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of Kashi Vishwanath Temple & Gyanwapi mosque complex which was stayed by high court.