How old is the case's legal dispute?


 It all began in 1991, when counsel Vijay Shankar Rastogi submitted a petition on behalf of the Swayambhu Jyotirlinga Bhagwan Vishweshwar, the temple's principal deity, stating that Maharaja Vikramaditya built a temple on the site some 2,050 years ago. They said that the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb razed the temple in 1669, and that the mosque was built on top of the remains.

The queen of Indore, Ahilya Holkar, erected a new Kashi Vishwanath temple close to the mosque in 1780, approximately a century later. Many believe it to be Lord Shiva's most important shrine. Vishveshvara or Vishvanath, one of Shiva's 12 Jyotirlingas, is also referenced in the Skanda Purana.

They argued that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act did not apply since the mosque was built on top of a partially ruined temple, and numerous remains of the temple can still be seen today.

The trial court in Varanasi formulated preliminary issues in 1997, with the major point of dispute being whether or not the subject was precluded by Section 4 of the Act. The rule specifies that a place of worship's religious character must be preserved as it was on August 15, 1947. Section 4 (part ii) of the Act states:

If, on the commencement of this Act, any suit, appeal or other proceeding with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship, existing on the 15th day of August, 1947, is pending before any court, tribunal or other authority, the same shall abate, and no suit, appeal or other proceeding with respect to any such matter shall lie on or after such commencement in any court, tribunal or other authority:They had contended that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act was not applicable in this case as the mosque was constructed over a partly demolished temple, and many parts of that temple can continue to be seen today.

During this time, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee filed a petition with the Allahabad High Court, claiming that the dispute could not be resolved by a civil court and citing Section 4 of the Places of Worship Act. The HC retaliated by ordering a suspension of proceedings at the lower court, where the case had been languishing for 22 years.

Then, in December 2019, VS Rastogi filed a petition on behalf of the same Swayambhu Jyotirlinga Bhagwan Vishweshwar, requesting an archaeological investigation of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, a month after the Supreme Court issued its decision on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi controversy. Rastogi filed the plea in the Varanasi court as the god Visheshwar's "next buddy."

According to his appeal, the first extra district judge asked a lower court to gather evidence from the whole Gyanvapi property in order to determine the facility's religious status or character in a 1998 ruling. The session was halted when the Allahabad High Court issued a stay order.

The Varanasi court directed the ASI to perform a survey of the mosque on April 8, 2021, notwithstanding the stay on the trial by the relevant high court, which has yet to give its ruling. The Sunni Waqf Board has stated that it will appeal the decision.


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