LUCKNOW: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Wednesday urged the Varanasi district court to postpone the release of the report of the scientific survey conducted by it on the Gyanvapi mosque premises by four weeks as it needed time to prepare another copy. The agency was supposed to submit the report to the Varanasi Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division), Fast Track Court, in compliance with the Allahabad High Court order of December 19. Varanasi district judge AK Vishwesha will pronounce the order in the matter on Thursday.
The agency has to submit the report in the lower court in connection with the Gyanvapi title suit of 1991. The ASI had submitted the survey report in the Varanasi district court on December 18, last year.
The Allahabad High Court, on December 19, had dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the maintainability of the civil suit of 1991 pertaining to the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi land title dispute.
The High Court had held that the title suits filed by the Hindu plaintiffs and pending before Varanasi trial court were maintainable and not barred by the Places of Worship Act-1991.
The Allahabad High Court had also directed that the report of ASI survey conducted in one suit shall also be submitted in connection with the other pertaining suits and if the lower court felt that a survey of any part was necessary, the court may direct the ASI to conduct it.
The ASI, in an application, contended that before the submission of the survey report to the lower court of Varanasi, its release into the public domain would be inappropriate. "It may end up spreading rumours and misinformation potentially impacting the ASI's ongoing work," contended the agency.
“In favour of the smooth compliance of the High Court order, it is necessary that this court (Varanasi district court) may order neither to open the sealed cover, nor to disclose the contents of the said report to any person of the suit or public before submission of the copy of the said survey report in the court of Civil Judge, Senior Division, Fast Track Court, Varanasi," the ASI stated in its application submitted in the Varanasi district court.
It may be noted that the ASI had conducted a 90-day scientific survey on the premises of the Gyanvapi mosque barring the sealed area of the ablution pond following the July 21 order of the Varanasi district court to ascertain if the existing mosque was standing on a pre-existing Hindu temple.
After the submission of the survey report by the ASI, the mosque management committee had moved the Varanasi district court, objecting to the Hindu side seeking a copy of the report. It had said that the copy of the report should be given to the Hindu plaintiffs only after an affidavit given by them that they would not leak it. It had also sought restriction on media coverage of the report. However, it also sought a copy of the report.