Gyanvapi row: Varanasi court to hear on Saturday ASI's plea for 15 more days to submit survey report
Varanasi (PTI): A court here will hear on Saturday an application filed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), seeking 15 more days to submit its report of a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
The Varanasi district court, which was scheduled to hear the matter on Friday afternoon, will now take it up on Saturday, Centre's counsel Amit Srivastava said.
The ASI carried out the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises, located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
The ASI told the court on November 2 that it had "completed" the survey work. The court had given the ASI time till Friday (November 17) to submit the report, but since a report of the techniques used in the survey is yet to arrive, the ASI filed an application in the court on Friday seeking 15 more days to submit the document, Srivastava said.
District Judge A K Vishvesh will hear the application on Saturday, he added.
The ASI told the court on November 2 that it might take some more time to compile the report, along with the details of the equipment used in the survey work, following which additional time till November 17 was granted for the submission of the document.
On October 5, the court granted four more weeks to the ASI and said the duration of the survey would not be extended beyond this.
On August 4, the court granted the ASI an additional month to complete the survey, extending its original deadline (from August 4) to September 4. It provided another four-week extension for the survey work on September 6.
The survey had begun after the Allahabad High Court upheld a Varanasi district court order and ruled that the step was "necessary in the interest of justice" and would benefit both the Hindu and Muslim sides to the dispute.
During an earlier hearing, the mosque management committee had objected to the survey, alleging that the ASI was digging the basement as well as other places of the mosque complex without permission and accumulating debris on the western wall, posing a risk that the structure might collapse.
The ASI team was not authorised to survey the premises by removing debris or garbage, the mosque panel had said.
The Gyanvapi committee had also moved the Supreme Court against the high court's order. The apex court had, on August 4, refused to stay the high court's order on the ASI survey.
In its order, the bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, asked the ASI not to carry out any invasive act during the survey. This ruled out any excavations, which the Varanasi court had said could be conducted, if necessary.
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Kalaburagi: ‘Vartha Bharati’ Kalyana Karnataka edition launched
Kalaburagi: The Kalyana Karnataka edition of the Kannada daily Vartha Bharati was launched on Saturday at a grand programme held at Dr S M Pandit Rangamandira in Kalaburagi.
The new edition was formally launched by The Wire Editor-in-Chief Siddharth Varadarajan. The programme was inaugurated by Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker Dr U T Khader.
Multilingual actor and social activist Prakash Raj, Minister for Small Industries and Public Enterprises Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, Minister for Municipal Administration and Haj Rahim Khan, Vice-Chairperson of the State Policy and Planning Commission and Aland MLA B R Patil, Chairman of the State Waqf Board and Sajjada Nashin of the Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah Hazrat Syed Muhammad Ali Al Hussaini, and Kalaburagi South MLA Allamaprabhu Patil were present as chief guests.
Also present on the dais were Koraneswara Mahaswamiji of the Tontadarya Anubhava Mantapa, Aland; Bishop of Kalaburagi Rev Fr Robert Miranda; Pujya Bhante Varajyothi of Anandur; social activist K Neela; farmers’ leader Chamarasa Mali Patil; DSS State Convenor D G Sagar; and activist and singer Ambanna Arolikar as special guests.
Vartha Bharati Founder Director Yaseen Malpe delivered the introductory address. H.M. Afroz Assadi, President of Madhyama Communications Ltd presided over the programme. Editor-in-Chief Abdussalam Puthige was also present.
Progressive thinkers, social activists, farmers, workers, student organisation activists, and readers and viewers from various districts and taluks participated in the programme.
