New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday adjourned the matter for tomorrow after hearing the petition against a district court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a survey to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi was built upon a temple.


Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker heard the matter during the day, and posted it for further hearing on Wednesday.


Puneet Gupta, lawyer of the Muslim side, told reporters, "Considering the gravity of the matter, the honourable Chief Justice (Allahabad High Court) has decided that he will himself hear the matter. The matter will be taken up tomorrow at 9.10 am."






During the hearing, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee which takes care of 22 mosques, including the Gyanvapi Masjid, said that the scientific survey can damage the mosque.


Opposing the claim, advocate Vishnu Jain, representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi mosque case, stated that the Solicitor General had already assured the Supreme Court on Monday that there will be no damage to the mosque, and no excavation would be conducted.


The petition by the Muslim committee was filed a day after the Supreme Court on Monday halted the ASI survey till 5 pm on Wednesday, allowing time for the mosque management to appeal against the lower court’s order while hearing the matter after a Special Leave Petition (SLP) was filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masajid (AIM) in the apex court seeking an urgent hearing in the Gyanvapi mosque survey case.


A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had asked the mosque committee to move Allahabad High Court with its plea against the district court’s order.


The mosque is located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple and Hindu litigants in the district court had sought the survey to determine whether a temple existed at the same spot earlier.


The Varanasi district court had ordered the ASI Friday to conduct a survey using technologies like ground penetrating radar and excavations, if necessary.


The apex court order to pause the survey came while the ASI team was inside the complex.