Gyanvapi Campus Survey Case: Allahabad High Court to Decide on ASI Survey Today; All Eyes on the Verdict

The Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, Preeti Diwakar, passed the order regarding the ASI survey at the Gyanvapi Campus.

The ongoing legal battle over the Gyanvapi Campus survey is set to take a crucial turn as the Allahabad High Court has extended the timeline for the ASI survey until today, Thursday. The court will hold the hearing at 3:30 PM. The Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, Preeti Diwakar, will pass the order regarding the ASI survey at the Gyanvapi Campus. The decision will come as a response to the challenge presented by the Anjuman Intejamia Masjid Committee against the Varanasi District Judge's order issued on July 21. The Anjuman Committee filed a writ petition in the court on Tuesday regarding the matter.

Doubts Raised Over ASI's Technique

During the Wednesday hearing, the Allahabad High Court expressed deep reservations about the ASI's proposed survey at the Gyanvapi Campus. The ASI failed to convince the court about the accuracy of the proposed Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technique, which the government plans to use without causing any harm to the structure. Consequently, the court's confidence in the technique was not established.

No Damage Will Be Caused to the Structure

In response to another question during the hearing, an ASI official present in the court stated that before the Supreme Court's stay order, they had completed only 5% of the survey on Monday. The ASI assured the court that no harm would be caused to the structure during the survey.

Violation of the Places of Worship Act, 1992

The demand for the Hindu party's survey of the Gyanvapi Campus faced strong opposition from the Muslim party, stating that it would violate the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1992. According to the act, any religious site's character, as it was in 1947, must be maintained without any changes. The Hindu party has challenged this act in the Supreme Court. They claim that devotees have been worshipping at the Gyanvapi Campus until 1993, making it exempt from the act's purview.