PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court on Friday directed the district judge, Varanasi to proceed with the carbon-dating and scientific determination of the purported ‘Shivling‘ found during a court-mandated survey in the Gyanvapi mosque compound on May 16, 2022, in Varanasi.
Setting aside a Varanasi court order that had rejected the demand of carbon-dating and scientific determination of the structure, Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra ordered the Varanasi court to proceed, in accordance with law, on the revision petition moved by some Hindu worshippers’ for conducting a scientific probe of the object by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Further, the high court also allowed the revision petition filed by Laxmi Devi and three others challenging the Varanasi court order of October 14, 2022, that had rejected the demand of carbon-dating and scientific determination of the said structure.
‘State has no objection to carbon-dating’
On April 17, 2023, the ASI in its 52- page report submitted before the high court, had given expert opinion that the age of the structure can be determined through scientific method without causing any harm to it. Its opinion was based on studies conducted by IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Roorkee, Birbal Sahani Institute, Lucknow and one more educational institution.
During the course of hearing, the counsel appearing for the petitioners had argued, “The district Judge passed the impugned order without any basis as it should have called for expert opinion from ASI that whether carbon-dating of the purported Shivling could be done without causing any harm or not before deciding the application.”
On the other hand, the counsels appearing for the state government had said, “If carbon-dating and nature of the structure can be determined without causing any harm to the structure then the state has no objection to the process of carbon-dating of the structure so that the real nature of structure could be found.”
The high court had on November 4, 2022, sought the response of ASI in the matter and directed the ASI DG to submit his opinion whether investigation of the said structure, if examined through carbon-dating, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), excavation and other methods adopted to determine its age, nature and other relevant information, is likely to damage it or a safe evaluation about its age can be done. Petitioners Laxmi Devi and three others had filed the present civil revision petition, challenging the Varanasi court order of October 14, 2022, that had rejected the demand for carbondating and scientific determination of the purported Shivling. Carbon-dating is a method of calculating the age of very old objects by measuring amounts of different forms of carbon in them.
Setting aside a Varanasi court order that had rejected the demand of carbon-dating and scientific determination of the structure, Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra ordered the Varanasi court to proceed, in accordance with law, on the revision petition moved by some Hindu worshippers’ for conducting a scientific probe of the object by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Further, the high court also allowed the revision petition filed by Laxmi Devi and three others challenging the Varanasi court order of October 14, 2022, that had rejected the demand of carbon-dating and scientific determination of the said structure.
‘State has no objection to carbon-dating’
On April 17, 2023, the ASI in its 52- page report submitted before the high court, had given expert opinion that the age of the structure can be determined through scientific method without causing any harm to it. Its opinion was based on studies conducted by IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Roorkee, Birbal Sahani Institute, Lucknow and one more educational institution.
During the course of hearing, the counsel appearing for the petitioners had argued, “The district Judge passed the impugned order without any basis as it should have called for expert opinion from ASI that whether carbon-dating of the purported Shivling could be done without causing any harm or not before deciding the application.”
On the other hand, the counsels appearing for the state government had said, “If carbon-dating and nature of the structure can be determined without causing any harm to the structure then the state has no objection to the process of carbon-dating of the structure so that the real nature of structure could be found.”
The high court had on November 4, 2022, sought the response of ASI in the matter and directed the ASI DG to submit his opinion whether investigation of the said structure, if examined through carbon-dating, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), excavation and other methods adopted to determine its age, nature and other relevant information, is likely to damage it or a safe evaluation about its age can be done. Petitioners Laxmi Devi and three others had filed the present civil revision petition, challenging the Varanasi court order of October 14, 2022, that had rejected the demand for carbondating and scientific determination of the purported Shivling. Carbon-dating is a method of calculating the age of very old objects by measuring amounts of different forms of carbon in them.