ASI granted extension of 10 more days to file Gyanvapi survey report

Varanasi: Granting extension for the sixth time, district judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesha on Thursday gave 10 more days to the Archaeological Survey of India to finalise the Gyanvapi mosque survey report and submit before the court by December 11. The court asked the ASI to positively submit the report in given time and not to seek further extension.Standing government counsel (Government of India) Amit Srivastava said that against the ASI’s application to seek three more weeks to complete the report on the scientific study and survey of Gyanvapi mosque to ascertain whether its stands atop a Hindu temple, the court of district judge granted 10 days to finalise the process and submit the report by December 11.In his order, the district judge mentioned, “After taking into consideration the facts mentioned in the application and circumstances of the case, I find it proper to grant 10 days more time to the ASI to file the report in the court. This court expects that within the provided time the ASI shall positively file the report and will not see further time.” With these strict remarks the district judge fixed December 11 for hearing and disposal of the survey report.On July 21, the district judge court had ordered the ASI’s survey on the plea of four women plaintiffs in suit number 18/2022. In compliance with this order the ASI had started scientific study of Gyanvapi mosque on July 24. However, Anjuman Intejamia Masajid (Gyanvapi mosque management committee) filed a revision before Allahabad High Court. On the order of the HC, ASI survey of Gyanvapi mosque was halted on July 24. The HC dismissed the objection of AIM against district judge court order on August 3. The AIM then moved the Supreme Court against the HC order. The apex court refused to stop the ASI survey of Gyanvapi after which the ASI resumed the survey on August 4. As ASI’s survey could not complete by August 4 it sought extension thrice on August 5, September 8 and October 5. After the end of the study and survey in field at Gyanvapi mosque the ASI on November 2 and November 17 had moved pleas for another extension before it sought another extension of three weeks on November 28 to finalise the report by mentioning technical reasons.Defendants in the case like the AIM had raised serious objections over seeking more time repeatedly for completing the survey and its report by THE ASI when hearing on this plea took place in the court on Wednesday.In its application THE ASI had explained the reasons which are delaying the process of finalisation of the report, in detail. It said, “ASI experts are working hard to compile, interpret and meticulously analyse data collected through various scientific studies and field observations. Its field team is working hard to prepare a detailed and illustrated survey report covering every aspect regarding and relation to the said survey. Required crosscheck, verification, correlation and compilation of findings to finalise the survey report based on systematic studies conducted by various expert teams is under process.” The plea further stated, “Experts and scientists are also working hard to interpret chemical analysis done on hundreds of samples of different materials both organic and inorganic and through study of various elements attempting to understand their nature, composition, provenance and relation with similar objects for submitting the survey report.”The ASI had further mentioned, “Hard work by experts is also continuing to interpret the processed images (without interpretation) and interpretation images prepared by the CSIR-NGRI team, which carried out detailed ground penetration radar (GPR) investigation at the complex, in relation to historical structure and remains. Teams of experts have generated enormous GPR antennae. This enormous digital data of high-resolution subsurface images produced by reflective electromagnetic energy in digital forms require proper analysis and very careful interpretation for meaningful results in discussion with experts, which is taking considerable time.”The plea also contained, “Time is also consumed by ASI experts in correlating different types of data gathered by archaeologists, epigraphists, chemists, surveyors and geo-physics experts in uniform manner. Amalgamation of information generated in different forms by different experts and different tools is a tedious and slow process. It would take more time for completion of the report and final submission.”
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