Varanasi court permits carbon dating of Gyanvapi mosque

According to the order, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will conduct a scientific survey of the complex, except for the disputed 'Shivling' structure.

The court asked ASI to submit a preliminary report by August 4, the next date of the hearing.

The full survey will take a period of six months.

The Hindu side had approached the court seeking its direction to ASI to survey the entire Gyanvapi mosque complex.

After the court admitted the petition in May, it directed the Gyanvapi mosque committee to submit its reply to the petition made by the Hindu side. Friday’s direction comes after the court heard the arguments of both sides.

The petitioner’s lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain argued that the dispute over the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque can be resolved only by an archaeological examination of the entire mosque complex.

He stated that by examining the three domes of the Gyanvapi complex, the western wall of the complex, and the entire complex with a modern approach, the situation can be better understood and clarified.

In May, the Supreme Court instructed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) not to proceed with the carbon dating of the disputed 'Shivling' structure located inside the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath corridor.

This decision came as the Supreme Court put on hold an order issued by the Allahabad High Court, which had allowed a scientific investigation to determine whether the structure in question is a 'Shivling' or a fountain.