New Delhi: The Gyanvapi mosque 'scientific survey' report has been submitted to a court of the district judge in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi by the Archaeological Survey of India. The report was submitted as a sealed document on Monday afternoon. It is unclear if this will be made public, or shared with either the Hindu side, who are the petitioners, or the Muslim side. The next date of hearing has been fixed for Thursday.
The Muslim side opposed a public report, while the Hindu side has objected to a sealed report.
The survey of the mosque premises, excluding the 'wazukhana' sealed by the Supreme Court, was ordered by the Varanasi court to check if the late-17th century mosque was built over a Hindu temple.
Right-wing groups claim a temple was demolished, by order of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, to make room for the mosque, which is adjacent to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
The survey started after the Allahabad High Court upheld the Varanasi court order. The High Court said the survey was "necessary in the interest of justice" and would benefit both sides in the dispute.
The Gyanvapi mosque committee then moved the Supreme Court against the High Court's order but, on August 4, refused a stay; a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, however, directed the ASI to not carry out invasive acts, which ruled out excavations the Varanasi court had cleared.
The top court ordered non-invasive methods of survey and said certain areas - including a structure found in a video survey in April last year and claimed by petitioners as a 'shivling' - were off-limits.
This was after the mosque management committee claimed the ASI was digging in the basement and other places of the 354-year-old complex without permission, posing a risk it might collapse.
The row began in August 2021, after five Hindu women sought permission to pray at the mosque premises, Specifically, they sought permission to pray at a shrine behind the temple's western wall.
READ | Allahabad High Court Reserves Verdict In Gyanvapi Mosque Case
Meanwhile, last week the Allahabad High Court reserved its judgment on a 1991 petition challenging the maintainability of a suit seeking restoration of a temple at the Gyanvapi mosque site.
A future date has not been set yet.
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.