New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday put on hold the Allahabad HC order for carbon-dating and scientific examination of 'Shivling', which was found during a court-ordered survey inside the wuzu khana (a place where ablutions are performed before namaz) of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, last year.

The implications of the HC order merit closer scrutiny, the Apex Court said after the Solicitor General agreed to deferment in the case.

The SG Tushar Mehta said the government will also examine, in consultation with ASI, whether there is a better alternative method to ascertain the age of the 'Shivling', or what the Muslim side calls a fountain.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chadrachud deferred the examination, saying these required careful treading.

Gyanvapi mosque management committee, Anjuman Islamia Masjid Committee, had moved the Supreme Court on Thursday, challenging an Allahabad HC order allowing carbon dating of purported Shivling discovered in wuzu area during a survey last year.

Hindu parties had also filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, saying that, if there would be any appeal filed by parties, in the case against the Allahabad High Court order directing scientific investigation to ascertain whether the object found during the survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque premises is a Shiva linga or a fountain, then it must be heard.

A caveat is a legal document filed by a party to ensue that without hearing its side, the court cannot pass any order.

The Allahabad High Court last week in its order held that a scientific survey can be done of the oval-shaped object found in Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque that Hindu plaintiffs claim to be a shivling.

On May 12, the High Court set aside a Varanasi district court order refusing to allow carbon dating to determine the age of the object.

The matter is related to a plea filed by five Hindu women who claim that an image of deity Shringar Gauri exists at the mosque and have sought permission to offer daily prayers there.

(With UNI inputs)