ASI gets 4 weeks to complete Gyanvapi survey; report to be submitted by Sept 2
The court of the Varanasi district judge passed the order on an application by ASI seeking additional four weeks’ time to submit the survey report
The court of the Varanasi district judge on Saturday ordered the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to submit a report on the Gyanvapi mosque’s scientific survey by September 2.
The court passed the order on an application by ASI seeking additional four weeks’ time to submit the survey report.
The survey resumed amid tight security on the second consecutive day on Saturday. On August 3, the Allahabad high court vacated a stay and gave the go-ahead for the exercise.
“On Saturday, the court directed the ASI to submit a report of the scientific survey of Gyanvapi by (up to) September 2,” said standing government counsel, Government of India, Amit Kumar Srivastava.
On Friday, he filed the application on behalf of ASI, urging the court to give four weeks’ time for completing the survey and submitting the report.
Srivastava told the court that ASI could not conduct the survey and submit the report so far (as there was a stay on the survey till August 3).
“We urged the court to give four weeks’ time to the ASI for submitting report in terms of the order dated July 21, 2023, which has been affirmed by the order of the Allahabad high court dated August 3, 2023,” Srivastava said.
“The court accepted our prayer and heard us,” he added.
The Varanasi court had 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 the same day (July 24) halted the exercise till 5pm on July 26 and granted liberty to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, to approach the Allahabad high court.
When the mosque committee moved the high court on July 25, the high court extended the stay on the survey. The high court gave its ruling on August 3 and allowed the exercise to go ahead.
The masjid committee moved the Supreme Court against the high court order on Thursday (August 3), but the top court refused to stay the survey on Friday.
