Gyanvapi mosque survey: Supreme Court stays Varanasi court order till Wednesday 5pm
Hindustan TimesThe Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Varanasi district court order until 5 pm on July 26 allowing scientific excavation of the Gyanvapi mosque complex survey by the Archaeological Survey of India to ascertain whether the masjid was built over a pre-existing Hindu temple. On Friday, the Varanasi district court ordered an extensive survey of the Gyanvapi Masjid by ASI to ascertain whether the mosque was built over a pre-existing Hindu temple The court requested the Allahabad high court to ensure the matter is taken up on July 26. On Friday, a Varanasi court directed the ASI to conduct a "detailed scientific survey" -- including excavations, wherever necessary -- to determine if the mosque was built at a place where a temple existed earlier. The mosque's "wazookhana", where a structure claimed by the Hindu litigants to be a "Shivling" exists, will not be part of the survey, following an earlier Supreme Court order protecting that spot in the complex.