Varanasi: Kashi Vishwanath Temple is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The nearby Gyanwabi Mosque is said to have been built by the Mughal kings after demolishing the temple there.
Also, 5 Hindu women filed a case in the Varanasi court seeking permission to worship Goddess Singhara Gauri on the wall of the mosque. Hearing this, the court directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a field survey inside the mosque. Based on that, the ASI conducted a field survey at the Gyanwabi Mosque and submitted its report to the court. Copies of which were served to both the parties in the case as per court order.
In the report, there is evidence that a temple existed before the construction of the Gyanwabi Mosque in the 17th century. A large number of objects including inscriptions and sculptures found during the field survey confirm that there was already a temple there.
In this regard, Mohammad Yasin, secretary of the Anjuman Indijamia Mosque Committee, which manages the Gyanwabi Mosque, says, “The Indian Archeology Department has submitted a report. This is not a judgment. There may be various statements regarding this. They cannot be final in this matter. If this matter comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court, we will give our opinion pointing to the Places of Worship (Special) Act,” he said.
It is to be noted that the special law prohibits the conversion of places of worship that existed at the time of independence, except for the Ayodhya Ram temple.