The Varanasi district Judge A K Vishvesh on Wednesday asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to explain the reason for seeking more time for submitting a scientific survey report of the Gyanvapi complex. The court has posted the matter for hearing on Thursday.
During the hearing the court asked a senior ASI official from Delhi to explain the need for more time, to which the ASI counsel said that officials in Varanasi have been handling the task and will apprise the court about it.
Meanwhile the Muslim side represented by lawyer Mohammad Ikhlaq objected to the ASI repeatedly seeking more time.
On 28 November the ASI had sought three more weeks from the district court for submitting the scientific survey report of the Gyanvapi mosque complex saying it needed more time for the assimilation of information generated by different experts.
The ASI has been conducting a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, excluding the sealed section, since August 4, following court orders.
The survey aims to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was built over a pre-existing Hindu temple structure.
