Varanasi court fixes Feb 15 for hearing plea seeking ASI survey of Gyanvapi basements

In the petition, the petitioner asked for all closed cellars in the Gyanvapi mosque complex, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, to be surveyed by the ASI.

A Varanasi court on Tuesday fixed February 15 for the hearing of a petition seeking a survey of all closed basements in the Gyanvapi mosque complex by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

According to the petition, there are "secret cellars" inside the basements and it is necessary to survey them to reveal the entire truth of the Gyanvapi mosque. Lawyer Madan Mohan Yadav said acting District Judge Anil Kumar has fixed February 15 as the next date of hearing on the petition.

The petitioner, Rakhi Singh, is a founding member of the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh and is one of the parties in the Maa Shringar Gauri case, which led to the survey of the complex by the ASI. In the petition, she asked for all closed cellars in the Gyanvapi mosque complex, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, to be surveyed by the ASI, her advocate Anupam Dwivedi said.

A map of the closed basements has also been included in the petition.