Lucknow, 23 July: The matter of the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi complex, with the exception of the Wazukhana section, as directed by the Varanasi District Court judge has now reached the Supreme Court.
The Anjuman Intejamia Masjid Committee has filed a contempt appeal in the Supreme Court against the district court’s judgement allowing the Archaeological inspect of India (ASI) to inspect the whole complex, with the exception of the shuttered Wajukhana of Gyanvapi in Varanasi.
According to the Masjid Committee, the survey ordered by the ASI violated the Supreme Court’s decision. The petition is scheduled to be heard in the next week.
According to Syed Mohammad Yasin, joint secretary of the Anjuman Intejamia Masjid Committee, the district judge court’s judgement was in violation of the Supreme Court’s order.
On Friday, the committee’s supporters petitioned the Supreme Court. According to Yasin, the Allahabad High Court ordered carbon dating and a scientific study of the fountain in the Waju Khana of Gyanvapi Masjid on May 12.
“The Supreme Court had halted the Allahabad High Court’s ruling. The district court has now ordered the ASI to survey the surrounding region. He stated that the Supreme Court stated in its order on May 19 that this is a serious matter. There is no need to rush through this. The district court was also informed that the Supreme Court had stopped the scientific survey. There is complete trust in the country’s Supreme Court and the rule of law. Injustice will not befall us,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Hindu side will provide a copy of the district judge’s ruling ordering the survey of the Gyanvapi complex (excluding the locked storeroom) to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) office in Sarnath on Monday.
Sudhir Tripathi, an advocate representing the Hindu side, provided this information. He stated that all of the essential procedures were performed on Saturday.
On Monday, a copy of the court order will be given to ASI’s local officials, and a demand will be made to organise a meeting of the plaintiffs and defendants and begin the survey work as soon as possible.
According to Advocate Sudhir Tripathi, a caveat would be filed in the High Court and the Supreme Court, and that its preparation is complete.
Our objective is to uncover the truth in a scientific way by launching a survey from ASI in Gyanvapi, he added. On Friday, District Judge Ajay Krishna Vishwesh ordered the ASI to examine the Gyanvapi campus (save for the shuttered warehouse).
The survey report is due to the court on August 4th. The court stated in the seven-page decision that the inquiry must be conducted in a scientific way without causing any damage to the building’s structure.
