Varanasi court to decide on Jan 24 whether to make ASI report on Gyanvapi mosque public

The ASI had undertaken the survey on the orders of the Varanasi court that had directed it to ascertain whether the mosque was “constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple”.

In its plea, the ASI requested that as per the high court’s December 18 order, the agency has to present the survey report in the 1991 suit (presently pending before the Court of Civil Judge, Senior Division, Fast Track Court, Varanasi) as well. The ASI had stated that disclosing the report’s content to the public would be inappropriate, as it may result in the spread of rumours and misrepresentation, potentially affecting the ASI’s ongoing work.

On December 18, the ASI had submitted before the Varanasi court a 1000-page report on the scientific survey of the mosque premises.

On August 4, the Supreme Court refused to stop the ASI from surveying the Gyanvapi mosque premises, except the ‘wuzukhana’ area where a ‘shivling’ was claimed to have been found last year. While the Hindu petitioners claim that the structure is a “shivling”, the Muslim side says it is a “fountain”.