An order was passed by the Varanasi court cautioning the media and parties involved from sharing of inaccurate and unofficial information on survey at Gyanvapi Mosque premises by the Archeological Survey of India.
The application moved by Muslim body has been allowed by Judge AK Vishvesha overseeing the Gyanvapi Mosque survey and listed the matter for next hearing on August 17.
The directions were given by the court to both the ASI and the parties not to disclose any information regarding the survey to media persons.
The Court directed that any news about the survey is incorrectly published by print media, social media, or electronic media without official information, even though the ASI plaintiff side and the defendant side have not provided any information, appropriate legal action will be taken against them.
The application by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid meintions that no statement has been made by the ASI or its officials pertaining to the ongoing survey, but print media electronic media and social media are arbitrarily spreading wrong and false news about it.
The application states that the media has been disseminating information about the areas inside the mosque which have not been surveyed to date,which is causing wrong impact before public and generating enmity between people.
The ASI currently conducting a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi after the order by the Varanasi District Judge on July 21 for determining if the mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
It is the eighth consecutive day of the survey today and the work is in progress.
The Apex Court had refused to stop the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from carrying out a survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque at Varanasi,but had clearly instructed that the ‘wuzukhana’ area where a ‘shivling’ was claimed to have been found last year were not to be touched.
the Court allowed the survey to take place after taking on record an undertaking made on behalf of the ASI that no excavation would be done at the site and no damage will be caused to the structure.
On July 21, the Varanasi District Judge directed the Archaeological Survey of India’s director to conducting a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises except for the area that was sealed earlier (wuzukhana) to find out if the same has been built over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.