Allahabad High Court to resume hearing on plea against ASI survey on Gyanvapi premises

The Allahabad High Court will on Thursday resume hearing on a plea against a Varanasi district court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque was built upon a temple. The matter is listed for hearing in the court of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker at 3:30 pm. The court had on July 26 extended the stay on the ASI survey on the Gyanvapi mosque premises till Thursday. During the hearing on Wednesday, a senior ASI official was present in the court. The official told the court that the ASI team was not going to “destroy the structure (mosque)” in any way. After hearing the plea by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, Chief Justice Diwaker posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday. The court ordered that the stay on the ASI survey will continue till then. The mosque committee had moved the high court on July 25, a day after the Supreme Court halted the ASI survey till 5 pm on Wednesday, allowing time for the committee to appeal against the lower court’s order.