- By Abhirupa Kundu
- Thu, 05 Oct 2023 07:59 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has sought an additional four weeks time to complete the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex. In a plea application to the Varanasi district judge on Wednesday it asked for an extension after October 6, on which it was originally supposed to submit its report. The court will be hearing the petition on Thursday, an official said.
"We prayed to the Varanasi district court to grant additional four weeks time after October 6 for performing survey in Gyanvapi mosque complex and submitting its report before the court," Amit Kumar Srivastava, standing government counsel for the Union government, who filed the application on behalf of ASI, said.
A copy of the application was also sent to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC), which manages Gyanvapi mosque, its counsel Akhlaque Ahmad confirmed.
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Earlier on September 8, a Varanasi district judge had granted another four weeks' time to the ASI to complete the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex and asked to submit the survey report by October 6.
The court of district judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesha had passed the order on ASI's plea seeking an additional eight weeks' time for submitting the report.
On August 5, the court of the Varanasi district judge granted an additional four weeks to ASI to submit a report on the Gyanvapi mosque's scientific survey that resumed amid tight security on August 4 after the court, on August 3, vacated a stay and gave the go-ahead for the exercise.
The Varanasi court ordered the ASI to submit a report till September 2.
Initially, the court had asked to order the survey on July 21 and asked for submission of the report by August 4. In compliance with that order, the ASI had surveyed for over four-and-a-half hours on July 24 after which the Supreme Court the same day (July 24) halted the exercise till 5 pm on July 26 and granted liberty to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee to approach the Allahabad High Court.
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When the mosque committee moved the high court on July 25, it extended the stay on the survey.
The high court gave its ruling on August 3 and allowed the exercise to go ahead.