The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday extended the stay on the scientific survey that will be conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at the Gyanvapi mosque complex till Thursday, July 27. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Committee challenging a Varanasi court’s order that allowed the ASI to conduct a scientific survey to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque was constructed on the land of a temple.
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday extended the stay on the scientific survey that will be conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at the Gyanvapi mosque complex till Thursday, July 27. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Committee challenging a Varanasi court’s order that allowed the ASI to conduct a scientific survey to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque was constructed on the land of a temple.
However, Naqvi said the Hindu side’s application states that excavation will be done under three domes. He also argued that despite the Hindu side’s assurances that the survey will not include the Wazukhana area, it is likely to suffer damage if the survey is conducted.
The ASI told the court that it would follow the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) method for the survey without any damage to the property, but the bench led by Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker was not convinced. The court asked ASI if it had done similar survey work before and asked for photographs from those earlier projects.
On Thursday, an ASI official has been asked to appear before the court, when it will likely give its final judgement on the case. The hearing will resume at 3:30 p.m. on July 27.