Gyanvapi survey: ASI submits report in Varanasi court, awaited verdict today

livemint.com:

Gyanvapi mosque complex to the district court in a sealed cover, the court has set the next hearing for Thursday. As reported by PTI, on Wednesday, Maulana Arshad Madani, the President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said that the Muslim party plans will appeal to the Supreme Court. This decision comes after petitions contesting the validity of a 1991 lawsuit, which seeks the "restoration" of a temple beneath the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, was rejected by the Allahabad High Court.

Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas challenging the maintainability of a 1991 lawsuit seeking the “restoration" of a temple where the Gyanvapi mosque stands and observed that the "religious character" of a disputed place can only be decided by the court. Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque: ASI begins survey to determine whether masjid was built demolishing Kashi Vishwanath temple Earlier, advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, representing the Hindu petitioners, said that the report in sealed cover was placed before the court by the ASI's standing counsel Amit Srivastava. Following the petitioners' assertion that the 17th-century mosque was built over an existing temple, the court-mandated the survey.

Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque report submitted in Varanasi court by Archaeological Survey of India During the submission of the report, four high-ranking ASI officials were in attendance in court. The ASI received several extensions to finalize the survey. Yadav said, “The court has fixed December 21 to open the sealed report and submit its copies to the advocates of either side.