Gyanvapi Survey "Completed", Archaeological Survey Gets More Time To File Report

The Archaeological Survey of India on Thursday told a Varanasi court that it has "completed" the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex and is granted additional time till November 17 to submit its report.

The ASI was to submit the report of the survey by November 6.

Accepting the ASI request for more time to submit the report, District Judge A K Vishvesh passed the order on Thursday, Central government counsel Amit Srivastava said.

The court was informed that the ASI has completed its survey, but it may take some more time for compiling the report along with the details of the equipment used in the survey work, Mr Srivastava said.

On October 5, the court granted four more weeks to the ASI and said that the duration of the survey would not be extended beyond this.

The Varanasi court, on August 4, had granted the ASI an additional month to complete the survey, extending its original deadline (from August 4) to September 4. The court provided another extension of four weeks for the survey work on September 6.

The ASI carried out a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, next to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, to determine whether the 17th century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.

The ASI survey had begun after the Allahabad High Court upheld a Varanasi district court order and ruled that the step is "necessary in the interest of justice" and would benefit both the Hindu and Muslim sides.

During an earlier hearing, the mosque management committee had presented its objection, alleging the ASI was digging in the basement as well as other places of the Gyanvapi complex without permission and accumulating debris on the western wall of the structure, which risks collapse of the structure.

The ASI team was not authorised to survey the premises by removing debris or garbage, the mosque panel had said.

The Gyanvapi committee had also moved the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court's order. The Supreme Court had on August 4 refused to stay the high court's order on the ASI survey.

In its order, the bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, asked the ASI not to carry out any invasive act during the survey. This ruled out any excavations, which the Varanasi court had said can be conducted, if necessary.

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