E-Paper
Varanasi court partially allows ASI to not disclose Gyanvapi report for 4 weeks
The Varanasi district court has fixed January 24 as the next date of hearing on a bunch of pleas related to the ASI survey report on Gyanvapi mosque complex
VARANASI: The Varanasi district court on Saturday partially allowed application by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), praying to the court not to make its Gyanvapi mosque complex survey report public for at least four more weeks. The court fixed January 24 as next date of hearing on a bunch of pleas related to the ASI survey report.
Standing counsel Amit Kumar Srivastava, who filed the application on behalf of the ASI, said, “ The court partially allowed our plea and fixed January 24 as the date for next hearing.”
The court said that in its view, it seems appropriate that instead of disposing four (related) pleas immediately, it would be justified to do this after the survey report is filed by the ASI in original suit No 610/1991 in the court of civil judge (senior division) FTC Varanasi. Therefore, the file should be put up on January 24 for hearing on the applications.
The ASI filed the application on January 3 and the court initially fixed January 4 for the order.
The ASI had told the court that it has to submit a copy of the sealed report in the court of civil judge (senior division), fast track court (FTC), Varanasi, in compliance with an Allahabad high court order.
On January 4, the court fixed January 5 as date for the order, said standing counsel Amit Srivastava. On Friday, the court fixed January 6 as date for the order.
The ASI had submitted the survey report in a sealed cover to the district court on December 18. On December 19, the Allahabad high court directed the ASI to submit the report on the scientific investigation/ survey work in the civil court (senior division), fast track court, Varanasi.
On Thursday (January 4), the civil judge (senior division) fast track court, Varanasi, directed the ASI to submit to it by January 19 the same report of scientific survey of Gyanvapi mosque complex that it had submitted to the Varanasi district court on December 18.
