Supreme Court agreed to hear the scientific survey of Shivling found in Gyanvapi campus

New Delhi. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Friday a plea by Muslim parties challenging the Allahabad High Court order ordering a ‘scientific survey’ of the ‘Shivling’ allegedly found in the premises of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. Is. This survey also includes ‘carbon dating’ technique to determine the age of ‘Shivling’. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala took note of the submissions of senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Gyanvapi Masjid Management Committee, and agreed to list the petition for hearing on Friday.

“The appeal filed against the Allahabad High Court order is pending,” Ahmadi said. On May 12, the Allahabad High Court ordered the use of state-of-the-art technology to determine the age of a structure found in the Gyanvapi mosque, which is being claimed to be a ‘Shivling’. The High Court had quashed the order of the Varanasi district court, under which the petition had been rejected seeking scientific tests, including carbon dating, of the structure found during the survey conducted in the Gyanvapi mosque complex in May 2022. The High Court had directed the District Judge of Varanasi to proceed according to the law on the request of the Hindu side to conduct a scientific survey of the ‘Shivling’.

The court had also sought reports from various institutions in this regard. The report submitted by IIT Roorkee states that direct carbon dating of the Shivling is not possible and the age can be determined with proxy dating of the material. For this a detailed study of the materials around the Shivling is necessary. This report further suggests that dating of some organic materials below the surface can determine the age, but those organic materials must be related to the Shivling.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in its 52-page report has given expert opinion that the structure can be dated scientifically without causing any damage. This opinion is based on studies done by IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, Birbal Sahni Institute Lucknow and another educational institute. Vishnu Shankar Jain, counsel for the revision petitioners, argued, “The district judge passed the order without any basis, whereas he should have taken an expert opinion from the ASI whether carbon dating of the Shivling can be done without damaging it.”

It is noteworthy that on November 4, 2022, the High Court had sought a response from the ASI in this matter and directed the ASI Director General to present his opinion. A case was filed in the district court of Varanasi demanding the right to worship Maa Shringar Gauri and other deities located in the Gyanvapi Masjid premises. On April 8, 2021, the Varanasi court ordered a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex and during this survey, the alleged Shivling was found on May 16, 2022.

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Tags: allahabad high court, Gyanvapi Mosque, supreme court