The team of Archaeology Survey of India(ASI) that reached Gyanvapi mosque complex in the morning had to pause their investigation after the Supreme Court ordered the ASI survey at the Gyanvapi Mosque premises halted till July 26.
A Varanasi court order dated July 21 prompted the ASI to conduct a “detailed scientific survey” -– including excavations, wherever necessary -- to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple is built upon a temple.
The recent development comes after the Gyanvapi Mosque management committee, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, filed a plea in the Supreme Court against the Varanasi district court's order.
As the survey stands halted, let us tell you what the 30-member ASI team had aimed to find at the mosque complex.
As per the Varanasi court order, the team was supposed to be making use of the GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) survey, excavation, dating method and other modern techniques of the present structure to find out whether the mosque has been constructed over a pre-existing structure of Hindu temple.
They had been asked to specifically conduct GPR “just below the three domes of the building in question", and to conduct an excavation there “if required”.
Apart from the dome of the mosque, the survey would also cover the plinth and pillars to determine the age and nature of the building.
However, the mosque's 'wazukhana', where a structure claimed by Hindu litigants to be a 'shivling' exists, was excluded from the scope of the survey, following an earlier Supreme Court order protecting that spot in the complex.
The Supreme Court in its order noted that the survey was passed on Friday, at 4:30 pm and the applicant should be granted "some breathing time" to pursue their legal remedy before the High Court.
Published 24 July 2023, 07:35 IST