ASI survey report on Gyanvapi to be given to both sides, rules Varanasi court

Lucknow: A Varanasi court on Wednesday directed that the report of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which conducted a scientific survey of the contentious Gyanvapi Mosque premises in Varanasi and submitted the report in the district court earlier, be given to the counsels of the rival parties.

District judge Ajay Krishna Vishwesh passed this ruling after hearing the counsels of the Hindu and Muslim litigants.

A certified copy of the report would be given to both sides, the court said after the ASI objected to sending the report to the parties through email.

Vishnu Shankar Jain, the counsel for the Hindu side, said that the rival parties could apply for a certified copy of the report once the court passed a formal order in this regard.

According to the lawyers of the two sides, the court has directed them to furnish an affidavit to the effect that the report will not be made public by them, before taking the certified copy of the ASI report.

The Hindu and Muslim sides sought copies of the ASI survey report.

The ASI had submitted the report in two sealed covers last month in the court. The ASI, during the scientific survey, which had started on August 4, used ground penetrating radar and other scientific instruments to ascertain what lay beneath the surface of the Gyanvapi Mosque premises. The ASI team also surveyed the inner and outer walls, the cellar and other parts of the premises barring the 'wuzukhana' (the place where Muslim worshippers wash themselves before proceeding to offer prayers).

The survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque premises began after the Allahabad High Court rejected the petition filed by the Muslim litigants seeking a stay on the Varanasi court's order for a scientific survey by the ASI.

The premise has been a bone of contention between the two communities for the past several decades but there was renewed clamour to ''take back'' the Kashi Vishwanath Temple premises by saffron outfits after the favourable decision of the apex court in the Ram Temple case.

The Hindu petitioners contended that a part of the temple had been demolished by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century. The Muslim side contended that the Mosque existed before Aurangzeb's reign and claimed that the same had also been mentioned in the land records.