STATE TIMES NEWS
Varanasi: The Varanasi district court on Thursday gave 10 more days to the Archaeological Survey of India to complete and submit a scientific survey report of the Gyanvapi mosque complex here.
Taking up the plea of the ASI seeking three additional weeks to submit the report, District Judge A K Vishvesh said he hoped that the ASI would not ask for more time, according to counsel for the Hindu side Madan Mohan Yadav.
The court fixed December 11 as the next date of hearing in the matter, Yadav said.
The court was hearing the ASI plea moved on Tuesday seeking three more weeks for submitting the report, saying it needed more time for the assimilation of information generated by different experts.
The ASI started the survey in the barricaded area of the Gyanvapi premises, excluding its sealed section, on August 4, following court orders to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
The Muslim side represented by lawyer Mohammad Ikhlaq strongly objected to the request for more time and argued that the ASI is seeking time to file the report again and again without any proper reason. He also argued that there should be some end to this process of taking time again and again to file the report.
The ASI be directed to file the report positively within the time granted by the court, Ikhlaq said.
In its order, the court said it expects that within the provided time, the ASI shall positively file the report and will not seek further time.