The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started the process of the survey from early morning on Friday, August 4, after the Allahabad high court on Thursday, August 3, cleared the way for it. The survey’s goal is to determine whether the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi was built over an earlier structure of a temple.
The group in charge of maintaining the mosque has since appealed the high court’s decision to the Supreme Court. Before the ASI began survey on the site, the Muslim side requested the Supreme Court to rule on their appeal.
Alok Tripathi, an additional director general at ASI, stated that the government organization would resume archaeological survey and scientific investigation on August 4 in accordance with the high court’s orders in a letter to the District Magistrate of Varanasi and the Varanasi Police Commissioner.
The Varanasi government was asked by the ASI official to grant the survey team access to the site and sufficient protection for their work and stay.
The parties engaged in the matter have received a copy of the ASI letter from the district administration.
On August 3, the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice (CJ), Pritinker Diwaker, dismissed the plea filed by the Gyanvapi mosque committee in opposition to the Varanasi District Judge’s July 21 order directing the ASI to assess the property.
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The high court upheld the district judge’s order to have the ASI director conduct scientific research, surveys, or excavations at the location, which is settlement plot no. 9130, with the exception of the area (the ablution tank) that was sealed by the Supreme Court last year.
The district court had also instructed the ASI to carry out a thorough scientific assessment of the current construction using GPR Survey, excavation, dating method, and other cutting-edge techniques to determine whether it had been built over an earlier structure of the Hindu temple.
The four Hindu ladies had requested year-round access for worship in the Gyanvapi property in a lawsuit they had filed last year, and the court had granted their request.
According to the high court, there is “no reason to doubt” the ASI’s claims that “no damage is going to be caused to the property in question” during the archaeological survey.
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The high court had requested assistance from the ASI on the topic during the sessions.
The ASI would undertake a survey, documentation, photography, detailed description, GPR survey, and full studies “without harming the existing structures,” according to an affidavit Tripathi later filed in court.
The ASI would carry out a thorough investigation in line with the law, compile a list of the antiquities discovered inside the building, conduct a thorough investigation, and carry out the exercise to determine the age and type of the construction.
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