Gyanvapi Mosque case: Allahabad High Court to hear plea on August 20

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday adjourned the Gyanvapi Mosque case to August 12. The court was hearing a plea challenging Varanasi District Court’s order denying the Archeological Survey of India to survey the Wuzkhana area, excluding the Shiv Ling, inside the mosque premises.

The Wuzkhana area had been sealed in 2022 as per an order from the Supreme Court. The ASI has established that a Hindu Temple existed before the mosque was built on the land.



On December 18, 2023, the ASI handed over its survey findings on the Gyanvapi mosque complex to the Varanasi district court. This move came after the completion of cleaning work in the Wazukhana area, as directed by the Supreme Court.

The Gyanvapi Mosque has been a topic of interest, with some believing it was built on the remains of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Various petitions in different courts, including the Supreme Court, Allahabad High Court, and Varanasi district court, have addressed different angles of this dispute.


The legal tussle dates back to a 1991 petition filed in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of Gyanvapiland to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The claim was that the mosque was constructed under the orders of Aurangzeb, who allegedly tore down a part of the temple in the 16th century.

The ASI initiated the survey in August 2023, with several extensions granted for the final report.