Allahabad High Court Postpones Gyanvapi Mosque Case Hearing to May 5

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday rescheduled a hearing to May 5 concerning a petition contesting a 2023 Varanasi court decision that declined to order an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) examination of the wuzukhana area within the Gyanvapi mosque, excluding a structure claimed to be a ‘shivlinga.’ This object was discovered during a court-ordered mosque survey in 2022, as reported by Rajesh Kumar Pandey.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, presiding over the case, acknowledged a Supreme Court directive from December 2024 that prohibits courts nationwide from issuing interim or final orders related to religious sites. The petition, lodged by Rakhi Singh, a plaintiff in the Varanasi case, seeks an ASI survey of the wuzukhana, an ablution pond in the mosque complex. The High Court allowed the mosque’s management committee additional time to submit a counter-affidavit in response to the plea.