The Supreme Court will hear the Gyanvapi mosque case tomorrow, a day before its interim order to seal the area, where a "Shivling" was said to be found, ceases to be in force.
The top court had in May ordered the sealing of the area after a group of Hindu petitioners claimed that a "Shivling" had been found inside the mosque complex in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.
The mosque stands next to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple. An area inside the complex is now open to Hindu devotees once a year for prayers. Five women petitioners have now moved court, seeking permission for daily prayers before idols on its outer walls and other "visible and invisible deities within the old temple complex".
A Varanasi court then ordered a videography survey of the mosque complex. The "Shivling" was found during the survey, the Hindu side claimed.
As water was drained from a pond inside the mosque complex, the "Shivling" emerged, claimed Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, the lawyer for the group of Hindu petitioners. The pond was used for "Wazoo" or ablution rituals before namaaz.
The mosque committee rejected the "Shivling" claim, and asserted that the structure was a "fountain". The committee also moved a plea arguing that the Hindu side's petition had no legal standing. But this challenge was dismissed by the Varanasi court.
The Supreme Court had then ordered the sealing of the area and directed the administration to ensure that no one enters it.
The Varanasi court hearing the matter last month rejected a plea by the Hindu petitioners for carbon dating of the structure they claim to be a "Shivling".
The court said scientific investigation, including carbon dating, would violate the Supreme Court order to seal the area.
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