The legal representative for the Hindu side revealed that the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has urged a Varanasi court to withhold the public release of the survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex for an additional four weeks.

Madan Mohan Yadav, counsel for the Hindu side, submitted that Varanasi district court judge A K Vishvesh has postponed the proceedings regarding the matter until Thursday.

As per the lawyer, the ASI has sought an additional four-week extension before unveiling the sealed survey report. The ASI had originally submitted this report, sealed, to the district court on December 18th.

The court had mandated the survey in response to claims by the petitioners that the 17th-century mosque had been built atop a pre-existing temple. The ASI conducted a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises, situated adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, aiming to ascertain whether the mosque indeed stood on the foundations of an earlier Hindu temple structure.

The district court had specifically instructed the survey to be conducted, outlining detailed directives in its July 21 order. This included examining beneath the mosque's domes, exploring the cellars, and assessing the western wall. Additionally, the ASI was tasked with scrutinizing the plinth and pillars to decipher the building's age and characteristics.

Importantly, the court emphasized that the ASI must carry out the survey without causing any harm or damage to the structure situated on the contested land.