The court of Varanasi's senior-most judge will now hear a plea by Hindu women petitioners for a scientific investigation, including carbon dating, of a purported 'Shivling' found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex earlier this year during a video survey carried out on the orders of a lower court in the temple town.
Four of the five Hindu women petitioners -- whose original plea to pray yearlong at a shrine inside the Gyanvapi mosque -- are being heard in the district judge's court, had filed the "scientific investigation" plea last month, saying it was necessary to determine the age of the 'Shivling'.
In their plea, the women said such an investigation could involve the carbon dating process and be carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India, a government body.