The story so far: On May 16, a local court in Varanasi directed the district administration to seal the spot in the Gyanvapi Masjid complex where a “shivling” was reportedly found during a court-mandated videography survey. The three-day survey, conducted under tight security, had concluded in the morning.
The Supreme Court on May 13 had refused to grant an interim stay on the videography survey of the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple complex in Varanasi, ordered by the local court. Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, however, had said on May 13 that the apex court would examine the documents in a plea requesting a halt to the videography, and later directed that the matter be listed before a Bench headed by Justice D.V. Chandrachud.
This developments comes after a Varanasi court ordered the survey commissioner to resume videography inside the Gyanvapi mosque, directing that the inspection of the complex be completed by Tuesday. The dispute stems from a case filed by five Hindu women in a Varanasi court, demanding access and the right to offer daily prayers at the Hindu site Maa Shringar Gauri located outside the western wall of the Gyanvapi mosque.
