Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath case: Supreme Court stays ASI survey till July 26, asks Muslim party to move High Court

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered status quo till Wednesday on the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises being carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) following an order of a Varanasi court passed last week. [Committee of Management of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Varanasi v. Smt Rakhi Singh]..A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that the District Judge order allowing the survey was passed at 4:30 pm on July 21. Hence, to allow breathing time to the Muslim party to move the Allahabad High Court, the apex court directed that the District Judge order should not be enforced till July 26.The Court also directed the Registrar (Judicial) of the Allahabad High Court to ensure that once the Muslim party moves the High Court, the matter is placed before the roster in order to be heard by the High Court before the status quo order of the Supreme Court ends."The petitioners are at liberty to move the High Court. Having regard to the fact that the order of the District Court was pronounced at 4.30 pm on 21 July 2023 and the survey is in the process of being carried out today, we are of the view that some ‘breathing time’ must be granted to the petitioners to move the High Court for pursuing their remedies. We direct that the impugned order of the District Court shall not be enforced until 5 pm on 26 July 2023. In the meantime, should the petitioners move the High Court. The Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court shall ensure that it is placed before the appropriate court according to the roster so that it can be heard before the order of status quo, which has been granted by this Court today, comes to an end," the Court said.The District Court had, on July 21, directed the Director of the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, excluding the area previously sealed by the Supreme Court (wuzukhana or an ablution pond).The Muslim party had moved the Supreme Court against the same..When the matter was mentioned before the CJI in the morning, the Court initially proposed to list the matter on July 28, with directions to the ASI to not carry out invasive work during the survey.However, after Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi appearing for the Muslim party, informed the Court that the ASI had already started digging around the western wall of the mosque, the Court chose to hear the matter today itself.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta claimed that the walls were not broken and that only measurement and photography were being carried out. He affirmed that no structural changes would be made to the premises.However, Ahmadi questioned the 'tearing hurry' on the part of the ASI in conducting the survey, and pressed for a stay on the order..On October 14 last year, the district court passed an order rejecting a plea for scientific investigation to ascertain whether the object was a Shivling or a fountain.The Allahabad High Court on May 12 had held that a scientific investigation can be done to ascertain whether the object found during the survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque premises was a Shiva Linga or a fountain, without damaging the object.Days later, the Supreme Court temporarily deferred the High Court's direction while seeking the responses of the Central and Uttar Pradesh governments to the appeal filed by a Muslim party challenging such a direction. This matter is presently pending before the top court.However, the court at Varanasi on July 21 instructed the ASI director to conduct the scientific survey of the mosque premises without causing any damage to it..This prompted the Muslim party to move the Supreme Court challenging the order. They told the Court that the order was passed at 4:30pm on Friday last week and that the ASI had started excavation near the western wall. .[Read Order]