Two pleas have been filed in the Allahabad High Court and the Varanasi district court seeking protection of Hindu signs and symbols in the disputed Gyanvapi structure.
The petitioners have expressed apprehensions that the Hindu signs and symbols present in the disputed premises could be destroyed by non-Hindus.
In the PIL filed before the Allahabad High Court, the petitioners have sought directions to the state government and the district administration to seal the entire Gyanvapi premises without affecting the ASI survey so that “no damage can be done by non-Hindus to Hindu sign/symbol” found during the survey. The PIL also urged that non-Hindus be restrained from entering the old temple area in the complex until the disposal of suits pending in the district court of Varanasi on the Gyanvapi issue.
While a plea has been filed by Rakhi Singh, one of the petitioners in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri case, in the Varanasi district court, accusing the Muslim side of destroying Hindu symbols and demanding protection of the complex. The petitioner’s lawyer, Anupam Dwivedi, said the court had fixed August 4 as the date of the hearing.
This comes as the Allahabad High Court is scheduled to pronounce its order on Thursday on a plea against a Varanasi district court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the disputed structure.
