On Wednesday, the Allahabad High Court directed the Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee (representing the Muslim side) to respond to a petition filed by the Hindu side. The petition seeks an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) investigation into the Wuzukhana area situated within the Gyanvapi Mosque premises in Varanasi.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal's bench issued a notice today in response to a revision plea filed by Rakhi Singh, the primary plaintiff in the Shringar Gauri suit of 2022. The suit pertains to the rights to worship Shringar Gauri on the premises of the Gyanvapi Mosque and is presently under consideration in a Varanasi court.

Rakhi Singh has petitioned the High Court to instruct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the ablution pond (wuzukhana) within the Gyanvapi Mosque, excluding the region where a Shivalinga is believed to be situated. The objective is to ascertain the religious significance of the property encompassing the Gyanvapi compound.

Through her revision plea, Rakhi Singh is contesting the accuracy of a Varanasi district court's decision made in October 2023. The district court had declined to order the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out the requested survey, a decision now being challenged by Rakhi Singh.

In the 2023 order, Judge AK Vishwesha observed that on May 17, 2022, the Supreme Court had mandated the safeguarding of the specific area where the 'Shiva Linga' is purported to have been found.

Consequently, the Varanasi court reasoned that instructing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the area would be inappropriate, as it would run counter to the Supreme Court's directive issued on May 17, 2022, regarding the protection of the specific location where the 'Shiva Linga' was believed to be discovered. The district judge also highlighted that an earlier district court order dated July 21, 2023, associated with the 2022 suit filed by the Hindu side seeking worship rights within the mosque compound, explicitly excluded the wuzukhana from the scope of the ASI survey.

In her revision plea, Rakhi Singh underscored the necessity of a survey of the wuzukhana area, emphasizing its potential benefits for both the plaintiffs (Hindu side) and the defendants (Muslim side). She argued that such a survey would provide valuable assistance to the court in reaching a just and equitable decision in the ongoing 2022 suit.

Furthermore, it was argued that the district judge erred in the October 2023 order by stating that the July 21, 2023 order intentionally excluded the Wuzukhana area from a survey. Rakhi Singh submitted that the application leading to the October 2023 order did not include a request for a survey of this protected area. Significantly, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has previously conducted a comprehensive scientific survey of the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi.

The ASI recently presented a report to a Varanasi district court, asserting the presence of an ancient Hindu temple at the site before the construction of the Gyanvapi Mosque.