Sacked official should submit Gyanvapi videography, Hindu plaintiffs tell court 

They say report would not be complete without his cooperation, amounting to a legal lapse

The Hindu plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri case in Varanasi have pleaded before a local court that Ajay Kumar Mishra, who was sacked as the advocate commissioner in the Gyanvapi mosque video inspection, be ordered to cooperate in completing the commission report by submitting the photography and videography conducted under him in the initial stages of the survey.

Civil Judge Senior Division Ravi Kumar Diwakar on Tuesday removed Mr. Mishra, the original advocate commissioner, from his post in the video inspection commission of the Gyanvapi mosque for leaking information to media through a private cameraman. The court also instructed special advocate commissioner Vishal Singh, on whose complaint Mr. Mishra was removed, to lead the commission report and submit it on May 19.

Mr. Mishra had supervised the inspection work on May 6 and May 7 before the proceedings were halted after objections from the caretakers of the Gyanvapi mosque, who did not want videography to be conducted inside the mosque premises. The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid accused Mr. Mishra of being “biased” and sought his removal.

However, the court rejected the plea and appointed two other advocate commissioners in the matter, along with Mr. Mishra, to complete the inspection. The videography was then carried out jointly for three more days before Mr. Mishra was removed.

In an application submitted in court, some of the five Hindu plaintiffs said that without Mr. Mishra’s cooperation, the report would not be complete, which would amount to a legal lapse.

Apart from this, the court is on Thursday also expected to take up a fresh plea filed by the Hindu plaintiffs. Plaintiffs Rekha Pathak, Manju Vyas and Sita Sahu demanded that a fresh commission be conducted after breaking open or removing the wall on the eastern side of the Shivling found in the wazu khana (ablution tank) in the mosque premises, as well as the northern wall of the tehkhana (underground cell) facing the statue of Nandi.

The mosque committee had said that the object claimed to be a Shivling by the Hindu plaintiffs was a fountain in the ablution tank.