Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex: SC asks Varanasi civil court not to proceed with hearing till tomorrow

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the civil court in Varanasi to not proceed with hearing the Gyanvapi case till it takes up the matter on Friday.

SC adjourns Gyanvapi mosque case for May 20 after it is informed that counsel for Hindu devotees is indisposed.

A commission appointed by a court to conduct a videographic survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex submitted its report on Thursday. Special Advocate Commissioner Vishal Singh submitted the report of the survey work carried out on May 14, 15 and 16 in the court of the District Civil Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, said advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, who is representing the Hindu side in the case. Also, Ajay Mishra, who was removed by the court as the advocate commissioner, filed a report late Wednesday evening on the survey conducted by him on May 6 and 7, Yadav said. 

Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi mosque case on Friday, 20th May at 3 pm. The Apex Court also asked trial court in Varanasi not to proceed with the Gyanvapi Mosque case till tomorrow. 

Hearing has been adjourned till tomorrow in Supreme Court. Adv Vishnu Jain, representing the Hindu side in Gyanvapi mosque matter has asked time to place documents. 

The report has been submitted before the court. People from both sides will be present before the court. It is a 10-15 page long report: Assistant Court Commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh on Gyanvapi mosque survey report

Court-appointed special assistant commissioner's report on Gyanvapi mosque survey submitted before Varanasi court.

A leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in Gujarat was arrested on Wednesday by the Ahmedabad police for allegedly making derogatory remark on Hindu deities on Twitter in connection with the Gyanvapi mosque row. ACP, Crime Branch, JM Yadav said Danish Qureshi, a panelist on news channel debates, was arrested after his purported post on the micro blogging site on reports about discovery of a 'Shivling' inside Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque complex during a court-mandated videography survey drew criticism from some quarters.

Amid the Gyanvapi mosque row, prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Wednesday appealed to the people, specially members of the community, not to hit the streets over the issue and avoid all kind of public demonstrations.

Amid the ongoing debate over a 'Shivling' found in the Gyanvapi mosque during a court-mandated videography survey in Varanasi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has said the facts related to the issue should be allowed to come to the fore while asserting that truth can't be hidden for long.

In an unusual coincidence, the two judges of a Supreme Court bench hearing a plea against the survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex in Varanasi have had an association with a similar kind of dispute relating to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid issue as well. 

Justice Chandrachud is hearing a case involving a temple-mosque dispute for the second time. He was part of a five-judge constitution bench headed by the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi which on November 9 had cleared the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and had directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.

Justice Narasimha, before becoming a judge of the top court, was associated with the case as a senior lawyer, who appeared for the Hindu side in the Ayodhya case.

Temple debris, lotus symbol found in survey of Gyanvapi mosque 

The report claims to have found a fragmented deity, the debris of the temple, shape of lotus in the mosque. The survey report will be submitted to Varanasi court today.