ASI pleads Varanasi court not to make Gyanvapi survey report public for four more weeks

Varanasi (UP): The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) on Wednesday requested a Varanasi court not to make its Gyanvapi mosque complex survey report public for at least four more weeks, according to the lawyer for the Hindu side.

Varanasi district court judge A K Vishvesh then adjourned the matter till Thursday, Hindu side counsel Madan Mohan Yadav said.

According to the lawyer, the ASI requested the court for four more weeks before the sealed survey report is opened.

The ASI submitted its survey report to the district court in a sealed cover on December 18.

The survey was ordered by the court after the petitioners claimed the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing temple.

The ASI carried out the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises, located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, to determine whether the mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.

The survey was carried out on the direction of the district court. In its July 21 order, the court mentioned the need to survey beneath the mosque's domes, the cellars and the western wall.

It said the ASI should also examine the plinth and pillars to determine the age and nature of the building. The court had asked the ASI to ensure that there was no damage to the structure standing on the disputed land.