Gyanvapi mosque: Allahabad HC to pronounce verdict on August 3, interim stay on ASI survey to continue till then | India News

NEW DELHI: The Allahabad high court will pronounce its verdict on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the Gyanvapi mosque site in Varanasi on August 3.

The court said that interim stay on the ASI survey will remain in force till then.
High court Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker today heard arguments from both the sides regarding the survey of the mosque, which was temporarily halted by the Supreme Court on Monday.

On Wednesday, the high court had extended the Supreme Court stay on the survey till July 27.
The ASI’s additional director had earlier filed an affidavit in the high court stating that during the survey there will be no damage to the structure.
The court was hearing a plea against a district court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a survey to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi was built upon a temple.
Earlier this week, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the mosque, moved the high court, a day after the Supreme Court halted the ASI survey till 5pm Wednesday, allowing time for the mosque management committee to appeal against the lower court’s order.
Vishnu Shankar Jain, the counsel for the respondent (Hindu side), submitted that in the Ram Mandir case, a survey was conducted by the ASI and the same was accepted by the high court as well as the Supreme Court.
The mosque is located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and Hindu litigants in the district court had sought the survey to determine whether a temple existed at the same spot earlier.
The Varanasi district court on Friday ordered the ASI to conduct a survey using technologies like ground penetrating radar and excavations, if necessary.
The apex court’s Monday order to pause the survey came while the ASI team was inside the mosque complex.
(With inputs from agencies)