Gyanvapi case: Varanasi judge flags ‘atmosphere of fear’, says wife, mother worried for his safety

Varanasi civil judge Ravi Kumar Diwaker, who on Friday ordered that the ongoing videographic survey of the disputed Gyanvapi mosque be completed by May 17, expressed concerns about his safety.

In his order he said that an atmosphere of fear was created and he was concerned about his and family’s safety. He also said that his mother had advised him not to visit the disputed site with the survey team.

“An atmosphere of fear was created by making this civil case into an extraordinary case. The fear is so much that my family is always concerned about my safety and I am concerned about their safety,” he wrote in the order.

In April, a civil judge appointed a team of lawyers led by a commissioner to conduct videography inside the mosque, in response to a petition by five people demanding they be allowed to perform Hindu rituals before a picture of Goddess Shringar Gauri, reportedly present inside the Gyanvapi complex. The petitioners had claimed the existence of an image of the Goddess on the western wall of the Gyanvapi mosque, situated adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

Members of the Muslim community, objecting to the videography, had held a protest outside the mosque when the survey began last week.

“Yesterday, my mother during our conversation also expressed concerns about my safety, and from the news received by the media, she came to know that maybe I am also going to the spot as commissioner and my mother asked me that I should not go on commission on the spot,” the judge added, the news agency ANI reported.

On Thursday, the judge dismissed the plea of the Muslim petitioners seeking replacement of the commissioner appointed by the court. He, however, appointed two more lawyers as commissioners. He also ordered the survey team to submit the report by May 17.