AMN
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stop the ASI survey at the Gyanvapi masjid complex at Varanasi. Taking on record an undertaking made on behalf of the ASI that no excavation will be done at the site and no damage will be caused to the structure, the Court allowed the survey to take place.
“Only non-invasive methods are to be used in survey. No excavation or destruction of any part of the structure”, the top court bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices Manoj Misra and JB Pardiwala said.
Accordingly, the Court disposed of a petition filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee challenging yesterday’s Allahabad High which permitted the ASI.
The top court bench also said it cannot find fault with the orders passed by the Varanasi district court.
The apex court bench also turned down the Gyanvapi mosque management committee’s plea to keep the survey report confidential until the court decides the maintainability of the suit by the Hindu plaintiffs.
The Supreme Court also took note of the submissions by the ASI that neither any excavation nor any destruction to site will be caused during survey. It took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ASI and the Uttar Pradesh government, that no excavation will be carried out during the survey nor any destruction caused to the structure.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque management committee, contended before the bench that the exercise by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is “digging into history”, violating the Places of Worship Act and impinging upon fraternity and secularism.
The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) which manages the mosque, had moved the top court yesterday, challenging the Allahabad High Court allowing the ASI survey.
The hearing took place on the day the ASI resumed the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises here to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.