Gyanvapi Wazukhana Survey: HC Waits for Supreme Court Hearing on September 15

The Allahabad High Court on Monday adjourned until October 6, 2026, the hearing on a petition seeking an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the Wazukhana area inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal deferred proceedings in the civil revision petition filed by Rakhi Singh, one of the plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri worship suit. The petition challenges an earlier order of the Varanasi District Judge refusing to direct the ASI to conduct a survey of the Wazukhana.

The court was informed that the matter is currently pending before the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the case next on September 15, 2026. Taking note of the ongoing proceedings before the apex court, the High Court decided to defer the matter.

The court directed that the petition, along with connected matters, be listed for hearing on October 6.

The dispute centres on the Wazukhana, an area within the Gyanvapi mosque complex that has remained at the heart of the wider legal controversy. The Hindu side has described a structure found there as a Shivling, while the Muslim side maintains that it is a fountain.

The proposed ASI survey sought to examine the Wazukhana, but the structure in question would remain excluded from the survey. The issue has been part of the broader litigation concerning claims related to the Gyanvapi mosque and the adjoining Kashi Vishwanath temple complex.

Rakhi Singh had approached the Allahabad High Court against the October 21, 2023 order of the Varanasi District Court, which declined to order an ASI survey of the Wazukhana.

With the Supreme Court set to consider the matter in September, the Allahabad High Court's decision to defer the proceedings means the next significant hearing before the High Court will now take place in October.