Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Friday deferred to August 6 the hearing over the ASI survey of the wuzukhana (ablution pond) area except for the Shiva Linga inside the Gyanvapi mosque, PTI reported.
On Friday, when the matter was taken up, the court was informed by one of the counsels that the Supreme Court's interim order was in operation.
The Supreme Court, in its interim order, had barred any court from passing effective interim orders or final orders, including orders directing surveys, etc., till further directions.
Following the submission, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal adjourned the matter while acting in a revision plea filed by Rakhi Singh, who is one of the plaintiffs before a Varanasi court.
The plea challenges a Varanasi judge order of October 2023, which refused to direct the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to survey the wuzukhana (ablution) area except for the structure, which the Hindu side calls a Shivling, and the Muslims describe as a fountain inside the Gyanvapi mosque located adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
In February, the Allahabad High Court adjourned its hearing on a petition demanding that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conduct a further survey of Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque until April 15, 2025.
The hearing was deferred in light of the Supreme Court's directive prohibiting courts across the country from issuing orders in lawsuits involving religious places. Then, Justice Ranjan Agarwal himself, hearing a prayer by Rakhi Singh, adjourned hearing the petition.
The Shahi Jama Masjid was built in 1526 by Babur, the first Mughal emperor. Until five years ago, no one had raised any doubts about this historical structure. However, after the Supreme Court's verdict in 2019 allowed the construction of a Ram temple on the Babri Masjid site, some individuals and organizations, under the shade of the Hindu nationalist government at the Centre, began to lay claim to the places of worship and lands of minorities, writes Madhyamam's editorial, 'The way a mosque becomes a disputed structure', published on March 8 2025.