Security of judge, advocate commissioners increased ahead of Gyanvapi survey

VARANASI: The security of civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar, team of advocate commissioners, advocates of the petitioners and the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee respectively has been tightened ahead of the survey of the Gyanvapi complex scheduled in Varanasi on Saturday, an official said.

Diwakar on Thursday had ordered to complete the survey of the Gyanvapi premises.

The others whose security has been tightened include advocate commissioner Ajai Kumar Mishra, special advocate commissioner Vishal Singh, assistant advocate commissioner Ajai Pratap Singh and lawyers of the petitioners and the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee which manages the Gyanvapi mosque.

In his order, the judge wrote that an atmosphere of fear was created by converting an ordinary civil case (in which an advocate commissioner was appointed to conduct the survey of Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex) into an extraordinary one.

“The fear is so much that my family is worried about my safety,” he wrote.

On the second page of the judgment running into several pages, Diwakar wrote: “This commission proceeding (to conduct the survey) is a normal process. This is usually done in most of the civil cases. Rarely has the court commissioner been questioned. An atmosphere of fear has been created by converting this simple civil case into extraordinary. The fear is so much that my family is always worried about my safety and I am worried about the safety of my family. My wife keeps worrying about my safety when I am out of the house. My mother also expressed concern about my safety when she came to know from media reports that perhaps I may also be going to the spot as a commissioner. (During a conversation on mobile) she forbade me to go on the spot as commissioner. She also said this could threaten my safety.”

“In the case, the advocate commissioner has only partially taken up the commission proceedings (survey of Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Complex). So, pointing a finger at the advocate commissioner at this stage doesn’t appear to be justified,” read the order.

The court doesn’t find any ground in the statements of the defendants (lawyers of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee) that advocate commissioner Ajai Kumar Mishra should be removed and the commission’s proceedings (survey) should be done by someone else..., the order read.

The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee advocates had alleged that the advocate commissioner was biased.