Waqf Board challenges Gyanvapi survey decision

Varanasi, July 1 The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) has challenged a Varanasi court's decision to conduct an archaeological survey of the centuries-old Gyanvapi Masjid abutting the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple.

The UPSCWB, on Wednesday, filed a revision petition in the court of Varanasi district judge Om Prakash Tripathi.

The court has fixed July 9 as the next date of hearing on the point of admission.

"On July 9, we will argue and appeal to the court to admit the revision petition," said Abhay Yadav, who represented the board.

It may be recalled that on April 8, Varanasi civil judge (senior division) Ashutosh Tiwari had ordered an archaeological survey of the Gyanvapi complex, saying the exercise was required to decide on pleas that allege the mosque was built by Mughal emperors after partially demolishing a Hindu shrine.

The decision had come on a clutch of petitions that claimed that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb demolished a portion of the Kashi Vishwanath temple to build the Gyanvapi Masjid in the 17th century, and demanded that the land on which the mosque stands be restored to the Hindu parties.