Gyanvapi survey: Varanasi court grants 10 more days to ASI to submit report
Counsel for Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee objected to ASI’s plea and argued that for filing the report, the ASI is seeking time again and again without any proper reason, and therefore, the application should be dismissed
VARANASI The Varanasi district court on Thursday granted 10 more days to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to complete and submit a scientific survey report of the Gyanvapi mosque complex here. It fixed December 11 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
The court of district judge AK Vishvesha on Thursday passed the order on ASI’s plea, filed by standing government counsel Amit Srivastava on November 28, seeking three additional weeks’ time for submitting the survey report.
“After taking into consideration, the facts mentioned in the application and taking into consideration facts and circumstances of the case, I find it proper to grant 10 days’ more time to ASI to file the report in the court. This court expects that within the provided time, the ASI shall positively file the report and will not seek further time,” read the order by the court of district judge AK Vishvesha.
“ASI experts are working hard to analyse data, including images prepared by the CSIR-NGRI team, which carried out detailed Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) investigation at the complex, in relation to historical structure and remains,” stated Srivastava in the application.
“The team of experts has generated a lot of GPR data...digital data of high-resolution subsurface images produced by reflective electromagnetic energy in digital forms that requires proper analysis and careful interpretation for meaningful results, which is taking considerable time,” he added.
He said ASI experts were working to correlate different types of data gathered by archaeologists, epigraphists, chemists, surveyors and geo-physics experts in a uniform manner.
“ASI experts are working hard to cross-check, correlate and compile the findings based on the works of various experts and specialists, but completion and preparation of detailed survey report is going to take some more time,” the standing counsel said.
During the hearing, Akhlaque Ahmad, counsel for Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, strongly objected to the ASI’s plea and argued that for filing the report, the ASI is seeking time again and again without any proper reason, and therefore, the application should be dismissed.
He also argued that there should be some end to this process of seeking time again and again to file the report. The ASI should be directed to file the report positively within the time granted by the court, said Ahmad.
On November 18, the Varanasi district court had given ASI 10 more days to submit the report after hearing its application filed on November 17 seeking 15 more days. Earlier on November 2, the court had granted 15 days’ time to the ASI, directing it to submit the report by November 17.
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.