Gyanvapi Mosque case: Fresh plea in SC seeks GPR survey and carbon dating of 'Shivling'; know about the two methods

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list for hearing on July 21 a fresh plea seeking its permission to worship the ‘Shivling', which is stated to be found in the Gyanvapi mosque premises in Varanasi during a court-ordered survey. 

The plea filed by seven Hindu women sought ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey and carbon dating of the Shivling purportedly discovered in the mosque’s ablution area during a court-ordered survey and permission to worship the deity. 

A bench comprising Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli took note of the submissions of lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain that the plea is listed for hearing on July 21 along with the pending petition of the ‘Anjuman Intezemia Masjid Committee’ which manages the affairs of the Gyanvapi mosque.

Another bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud is seized of a plea of the mosque committee challenging the survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex in which the ‘Shivling’ is stated to be found and listed it for hearing on July 21.

The petitioners, comprising an advocate, a professor and five social workers, said: “The exact age and dimensions of the discovered Shivling could be ascertained only after its GPR survey and carbon dating by or under supervision of Archaeological Survey of India.”

GPR Survey is a geophysical method that uses pulses of electromagnetic radiation to image the sub-surface of an object. It provides for a non-intrusive and non-destructive method of surveying the sub-surface. 

Radiocarbon dating, also referred to as carbon dating, is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The process is widely used in archaeology to determine the age of a monument or remains discovered in excavations.