Allahabad High Court raps ASI for failing to file reply on survey technique for Gyanvapi Shivling

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday rapped the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for yet again failing to file its reply regarding what kind of technique would be best suited to survey the contested Shivlinga-like structure at the Gyanvapi mosque.

The HC dubbed the attitude of the director general of the ASI as "lethargic" and "highly deplorable". It said things cannot be kept pending for long when the matter has an "element of high publicity all over the country", giving the ASI time till April 17 and "no more", as a "last opportunity".

In November, the ASI had asked the HC for three months to consult with specialists and give a comprehensive reply on how a scientific investigation of the contested structure could be carried out without damaging it. The matter had come to the HC after a lower Varanasi court had rejected the Hindu petitioners' plea seeking an ASI-led survey citing that if during the exercise, either using carbon dating or ground penetrating radar (GPR) method, the shivlinga is harmed in any way, it will be in violation of a previous SC order which had called for "protection" of the area where the structure was situated and that it may also cause religious sentiments to get hurt.