NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court stayed the Varanasi district court's order to conduct a survey inside the Gyanvapi Mosque. The archaeological department received the order to conduct a survey inside the mosque on Saturday evening. As per that, the survey process started at 7 am Monday morning. The apex court has now stayed this. The mosque’s management committee approached the Supreme Court.

After a lengthy argument of 45 minutes, the Supreme Court stopped the survey and issued an order. The Supreme Court has clarified that the survey should not be held till Wednesday.

The district court of Varanasi had directed the Archaeological Survey of India to inspect the entire area of the mosque premises, except the part where the Shivling is claimed to have been seen. The Supreme Court urgently intervened in it.

The Supreme Court had earlier stayed the Allahabad High Court's order to determine the oldness of the Shivling said to have been found in the mosque premises.

Arguments of petitioners
The mosque was built after demolishing a part of the Kashi Vishwanath temple on the instructions of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The survey will clarify whether the mosque was built on top of the ruins of the temple and the oldness of the three domes of the mosque and the western wall. The swastika symbol and hymns can also be seen.

On May 17, 2022, petitioners' lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain claimed that a four-meter-diameter and three-feet-high Shivling was found in the middle of a small pool where devotees wash hands and feet before prayers. He had claimed that it was discovered during a videography survey ordered by the Varanasi court, that the Shivling would be deeper, and traces of trident and lotus and ancient Hindi inscriptions were found.

The Shivling is claimed to be part of the fountain in the centre of the pool where devotees perform purification.