The court of the Varanasi district judge on Wednesday rejected as "not maintainable" a seer's plea for permission to worship the shivling purportedly found in the ablution pond of the Gyanvapi mosque during a court-mandated survey last month.

District government counsel (civil) Mahendra Prasad Pandey quoted district judge Ajay Krishna Vishwesha, who is hearing the Shringar Gauri case, as saying that the plea was "not of an urgent nature" given the fact that the primary dispute was still to be resolved. The court said the seer could move a fresh petition in July.

The order came shortly after the petitioner, Swami Avimukteshwaranand, called off his fast-unto-death since June 4, supposedly on the instructions of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati of the Jyotish and Sharda peeths. He had started his hunger strike at Varanasi's Shri Vidya Mutt after being stopped from marching to the Gyanvapi mosque to offer prayers to the shivling.

"We will contest the court's decision not to consider the plea for worship of the shivling and also start a countrywide campaign to mobilise people's support for the construction of a grand temple dedicated to Aadi Visheshwar," Swami Avimukteshwaranand said.

The initial hearing had been conducted on Monday in the court of district judge.

(With inputs from agencies)