ASI report on Ayodhya excavation to be published as book: Prahlad Patel

Speaking to reporters after Supreme Court delivered its verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel congratulated the ASI and said that a book based on the report prepared by its team which served as a proof in the apex court, would soon be published.

New Delhi: After the judgement on the decades-old Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit was delivered on Saturday, Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report, which was submitted in the Supreme Court after excavation at the disputed site, will soon be published as a book.

Speaking to reporters after the apex court's verdict, Patel congratulated the ASI team which prepared the report.

"The ASI report which till now was the property of the court will soon be published in the form of a book for the public," he said.

"I am grateful to all the experts who worked on the report and also congratulated them for their efforts," he added.

The ASI excavated the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site as per the direction of the Allahabad High Court in 2003.

The Supreme Court said the underlying structure below the disputed site in Ayodhya was not an Islamic structure, but the ASI has not established whether a temple was demolished to build a mosque.