ASI to hand over evidence found during Gyanvapi survey to DM: Varanasi court

District judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha told ASI to hand over any material relevant to the case before the court to the district magistrate and or his nominee

VARANASI: Varanasi district court on Thursday ordered the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to hand over any material related to the facts of the case or the Hindu religion that may be found during its survey at Gyanvapi mosque to the district magistrate (DM) or his nominee.

Varanasi: The ASI team outside the Gyanvapi Mosque complex amid tight security to conduct the court-mandated survey on Aug 10 (PTI)

District judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha passed the order on requests filed by four of the five Hindu women who sought directions to ensure that evidence found during the ongoing survey by the ASI were preserved.

“It seems appropriate that during the survey by the Archaeological Survey of India, whatever objects and materials are obtained from the site in question, which are related to the facts of this case or related to Hindu religion and worship system or from historical or archaeological point of view may be important in the disposal of the case, ASI will hand over their possession to District Magistrate or his designated authority who will keep those things safe and will present them in the court whenever the court summons them,” the judge said.

The court also ordered ASI to make a list of items found during its survey and file a copy of the list in the court.

On September 11, the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee (AIMC), which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, objected to the application, asserting that the request was filed on the basis of “baseless facts” and that no idol or artefacts were found during the surveys.

ASI has been conducting a survey in the barricaded area of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, excluding its sealed section, since August 4.

The survey was ordered to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple following a suit filed by five Hindu women who demanded an unhindered right to worship Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal, a shrine for goddess Parvati purportedly located behind the western wall of the mosque complex.