Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath case: Muslim party moves Varanasi Court to restrain media from sharing false news on ASI survey

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, overseeing the Gyanvapi mosque, has filed an application before a Varanasi court urging it to restrict electronic and print media from spreading inaccurate information on the ongoing Archeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the Gyanvapi premises..The application was moved in the Shringar Gauri Worshipping case of 2022, which was initiated by four Hindu women worshippers. These women are seeking uninterrupted access throughout the year to conduct worship activities within the premises of the Gyanvapi mosque.The mosque committee's application has asserted that neither the ASI nor its officials have issued any statements regarding the ongoing survey. However, incorrect and untrue information concerning the survey is being disseminated haphazardly across social media, print media, and electronic media, the applicant submitted."They have been publishing and disseminating information related to the areas inside the mosque which have not been surveyed to date, due to which, there is a wrong impact on the daily life of the public and different types of things are being generated in the minds of the public and the enmity is spreading," the application stated..The ASI is currently conducting a scientific examination of the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi, following a directive issued by a Varanasi District Judge on July 21, which was recently confirmed by the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court.The survey is being conducted amid disputed claims over whether an object found in the Gyanvapi mosque premises during a survey is a Shivlinga or a fountain. The district court, on July 21, had ordered an ASI survey of the mosque premises excluding the area previously sealed by the Supreme Court (wuzukhana or an ablution pond). The same was upheld by the Allahabad High Court on August 3.On August 4, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the Allahabad High Court order, after factoring in the assurance given by the ASI that there would be no excavation or destruction of property during the survey."High Court was correct in our view to introduce some directions to circumscribe the order of the district judge. The ASI has clarified that there is neither excavation nor there would be destruction of property," the Supreme Court observed.