ASI seeks additional 4 weeks; hearing today

On September 8, the court had granted an additional four weeks to the ASI to complete the court-ordered scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises and submit a report. The ASI in an application filed on September 2 had sought eight weeks, but the court had granted four weeks to complete the survey while dismissing a petition filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the mosque caretaker, against the ASI’s request for more time.

The ASI had in its September 2 application, seeking more time for the survey, said, “…In compliance with the orders, the ASI is conducting a scientific investigation/survey at the site. A team of archaeologists, archaeological chemists, epigraphists, surveyors, photographers, and other technical personnel has been engaged in scientific investigations and documentation.”
The court had on July 21 ordered a scientific survey of the complex to ascertain whether the mosque was “constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple”. The survey was to exclude the wuzukhana area sealed on the the Supreme Court order.

The survey was halted after the mosque committee first approached the Allahabad High Court and then the Supreme Court against the move. Both courts later cleared the decks for the survey that resumed on August 4 amid security.