Gyanvapi Complex ASI Report: Court to give its verdict on whether it should be made public or not

While the Hindu faction wants the report to be brought into the public domain, the Muslims oppose it. The verdict will bring an end to the stalemate over the status of the report which was filed on December 18.

Varanasi: A court here on Thursday will give its verdict on whether the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report on Gyanvapi Mosque should be in public domain or not.

The verdict will end the stalemate with the two warring factions differing over its status.

While the Hindu side is in favour of making the survey report public, the Muslims oppose it. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain representing the Hindus has sought a copy of the report that was filed on December 18. The four plaintiff women have also appealed for making the report public.

On Tuesday, the Allahabad High Court dismissed multiple pleas challenging the maintainability of a 1991 suit seeking the restoration of a temple where the Gyanvapi mosque now stands in Varanasi. The court ruled that the religious character of a disputed place can only be decided by it.

The five related petitions dismissed include the one on the maintainability and against a survey of the mosque premises, filed by the masjid management committee and the Uttar Pradesh Central Sunni Waqf Board, over the years.

The Court also held that the suit filed before the district court is not barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 that forbids conversion of the religious character of a place from what existed on August 15, 1947.

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