'Gyanvapi neither mosque, nor temple': Buddhist monk files PIL in SC, claims it is monastery

Buddhist religious leader Sumit Ratan Bhante filed a petition in the Supreme Court, claiming that Gyanvapi is not a temple or a mosque but a Buddhist monastery.

The fresh claim made by the Buddhist religious leader Sumit Ratan Bhante has demanded a separate survey to look for evidence of Buddhist mutt, according to media reports.

In the PIL filed in Supreme Court, Bhante claimed that the Trishul and swastika symbols found in Gyanvapi belong to Buddhism. He also claimed that there are many temples across the country which were built by demolishing Buddhist mutts.

Earlier today, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by the Gyanvapi committee challenging a district court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey to determine if the mosque was built upon a temple.

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday allowed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi.

On July 27, the court had reserved the order in the case till 3 August.

Dismissing the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s challenge against the survey, the bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker said, “Issue of a commission is permissible. The Varanasi Court was justified in ordering for ASI survey of the premises. A scientific survey is necessary in the interest of justice.”

Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side in the case, said the ASI survey of the mosque complex will start soon.

“Sessions court order has been upheld by the High Court,” he added.

Welcoming the verdict, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that he is confident that the truth will come out soon.

“I welcome this verdict. I am confident that the truth will come out after the ASI survey and the Gyanvapi issue will be resolved,” he said.

Earlier, in its order on 21 July, a Varanasi court had directed the ASI to conduct the survey of the mosque that included excavations if necessary. The survey was ordered to determine whether the mosque was built on the ruins of a temple or not.

While ASI had started conducting the survey on the mosque premises, the previous court order was stayed by the Supreme Court on 24 July after the mosque committee approached it.

The Committee said that any kind of survey would destabilise the mosque’s structure owing to its weak foundation which is over a thousand years old.

It also argued that a survey would lead to a violation of the existing laws around religious places.

With inputs from agencies.