On Friday, August 25, a plea was filed in the court of district judge Ajay Krishna Vishwesh to preserve and protect the religious symbols found during a scientific survey of the disputed Gyanvapi structure in Varanasi. On behalf of four Hindu women, senior Supreme Court lawyer Hari Shankar Jain has filed an application asking the District Magistrate of Varanasi to prepare a list of significant objects. The matter will now be heard on August 28. The court will also be hearing the Shringar Gauri case on August 28.
Sita Sahu, Rekha Pathak, Manju Vyas, and Lakshmi Devi, the four women litigants in the Maa Shringar Gauri case, have filed the said application with the district judge’s court. It has been said that all artefacts and objects discovered by the ASI during the survey in Gyanvapi should be preserved in a scientific manner to ensure they are not destroyed and could be presented as significant evidence in the future hearing of this case.
The application also names senior lawyers Vishnu Shankar Jain, Sudhir Tripathi, and Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi. The ASI survey has been ongoing in the Gyanvapi premises since August 4. Previously, when the survey was conducted by the advocate commissioners, many Hindu relics, sculptures, and other significant objects were reportedly found. The application stresses the importance of protecting the said artefacts.
Reports suggest that the court may direct the District Magistrate to preserve the important artefacts in the exercise of its powers under the Code of Civil Procedure. Additionally, when required, it can direct them to be produced in court.
As reported earlier, the ASI teams during the survey found many symbols related to the temple architecture, as claimed by the Hindu side. Sita Sahu, the petitioner of the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case, had claimed that fragmented idols had been found in the basement. A four-foot idol, half of which resembles that of a human while the other half of the idol was reportedly found to resemble that of an animal, has also been found. The Hindu side has claimed that the purported idol is of Narasimha Avatar. The antiquities reportedly found during the survey include a two-feet long trident, images of symbols related to Hindu temples, and 5 Kalash (urns).
