The survey of Gyanvapi mosque had concluded almost a month ago
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has sought three more weeks from the Varanasi district court to submit the scientific survey report of the Gyanvapi mosque.
The survey had concluded almost a month ago and the ASI had sought extra time to file its report. The last extension was on November 18, when the ASI asked for another 15 days. The court had allowed it 10 days.
The survey, which was started on August 4, leaves out the Wuzukhana area of the mosque, which was sealed by the orders of the Supreme Court.
The Varanasi court on July 21 allowed the scientific survey of the mosque based on a petition by four women worshipers who want to find out as to whether the Mosque had been constructed over a pre-existing structure of the Hindu temple.
In April last year, the court ordered a video survey of the complex based on that petition. The survey conducted in May revealed a structure in the Wuzukhana that the petitioners claimed was a 'shivling'.
Earlier this year, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a plea by mosque committee that requested it to scrap a civil suit being heard in a local court.
The lawsuit filed by a group of Hindu women worshippers seeking the right to pray in the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi was valid, the court ruled, allowing the case to continue in the Varanasi District Court.