Gyanvapi mosque survey: Varanasi court reserves order on ASI plea seeking 15 more days to submit report

During the hearing, standing government counsel Amit Srivastava, who filed the application on behalf of the ASI, prayed to the court to grant 15 more days for completion and submission of the report

The Varanasi district court on Saturday reserved its order on a plea by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), seeking 15 more days for submitting its scientific survey report of the Gyanvapi mosque complex here.

The Gyanvapi mosque’s scientific survey resumed amid tight security on August 4 after the Allahabad high court on August 3 vacated a stay and gave the go-ahead for the exercise. (For Representation)

The ASI filed the application on November 17 which the court heard on Saturday. During the hearing, standing government counsel Amit Srivastava, who filed the application on behalf of the ASI, prayed to the court to grant 15 more days for completion and submission of the report.

“The court reserved its order on the ASI’s application seeking 15-day time for submitting the report of scientific survey of the Gyanvapi,” Srivastava said. “....The report of the survey is about to complete. Only preparation of the report (of the survey) conducted by GPR is under process. It will take some more time for completion and submission of the survey report,” read the application by ASI.

Earlier on November 2, the court had granted 15 days’ time to the ASI, directing it to submit the report by November 17. Hearing an ASI application on October 5, the court had granted four weeks’ more time to complete the survey and submit the report. On August 5, the court of the Varanasi district judge had granted an additional four weeks to the ASI to submit the report.

The Gyanvapi mosque’s scientific survey resumed amid tight security on August 4 after the Allahabad high court on August 3 vacated a stay and gave the go-ahead for the exercise. The Varanasi court had initially ordered the survey on July 21 and asked for submission of the report by August 4.

In compliance with that order, the ASI had conducted the survey for over four-and-a-half hours on July 24 after which the Supreme Court on the same day (July 24) halted the exercise till 5pm on July 26 and granted liberty to the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee (AIMC) to approach the Allahabad high court.

When the mosque committee moved the high court on July 25, it extended the stay on the survey. The high court gave its ruling on August 3 and allowed the exercise to go ahead. The AIMC moved the Supreme Court against the high court order, but the top court refused to stay the survey on August 4.