Gyanvapi case: District court defers order on plea for carbon dating of ‘Shivling’

The Varanasi district court on Friday deferred its order on a plea by Hindu petitioners seeking a “scientific investigation” of the claimed shivlinga inside the Gyanvapi mosque by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It asked the petitioners for more clarity on some points related to the plea before it could pass a verdict. The next hearing will be October 11. The mosque committee will reply to the clarifications made by the petitioners on Friday.

“The matter was scheduled for a verdict on Friday but when the bench sat for hearing, it asked us for two queries which it wanted clarifications on before passing any order. The first query was whether the (claimed) shivlinga is part of the case property, and second, whether the court can order a commission for scientific investigation where carbon dating or other method can be adopted,” Vishnu Jain, counsel for four out of the five Hindu women plaintiffs, told the media. “We clarified to the court that in the suit we had asked for the right to pray to “visible and invisible deities” and therefore the shivlinga that was in the wazukhana was hidden inside the water and when the water was removed, the invisible deity came to be visible and this is how it is part of our suit property.

Secondly, we told the court that under CPC Order 26, Rule 10A, the court has the power to order a commission for a scientific investigation. We also told them the mosque committee has said on affidavit that the structure is a fountain and there is a need to adjudicate whether it is a fountain or a shivlinga. Therefore, an investigation is required to be done by the ASI,” Jain said.