The SC stopped the Gyanvapi mosque survey on July 24 and asked the Muslim side to go to the HC. The suit first arose out of a petition by a group of Hindu women seeking the right to worship Maa Shringar Gauri on the outer wall of the mosque complex. What is the main question of law here? The Allahabad High Court on Thursday (August 3) dismissed the Gyanvapi mosque committee’s challenge to the order of a Varanasi district court asking for a “scientific investigation/ survey/ excavation” of the premises, saying “scientific survey is necessary for the interest of justice”. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) can now go ahead with the survey that it had started on July 24 but had to abort after the Supreme Court stepped in. The Gyanvapi mosque stands adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. According to the available historical record, it was built in the 17th century on the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after destroying the original Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The p...