Today, a plea requesting a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) of obstructed cellars at the Gyanvapi premises was scheduled for a hearing on February 15 at a local court in Varanasi. The case was referred to the ADJ-1st Court following the retirement of the District Judge on January 31.

Rakhi Singh, a plaintiff in the Shringar Gauri Case, filed a petition with the Varanasi Court. The petition highlights that certain cellars were obstructed during a recent ASI survey, preventing a thorough scientific investigation of that area.

The petition specifies that within the Gyanwapi precincts (settlement plot no. 9130), there are cellars numbered N1 to N5 in the north and S1 to S3 in the south. It further notes that cellars N1 and S1 are entirely inaccessible due to blocked entrances.

The plea specifies that all four entrances on the western wall of N2, which are meant to provide access to N1, are obstructed. Additionally, there is no available information regarding the dimensions or inner arrangement of N1. Furthermore, the plea notes that there are five entrances along the eastern wall in S2, originally designed for access to S1. However, these entrances have been blocked using lakhauri bricks and/or stone blocks set in lime mortar, as claimed in the plea.

The plea emphasises that the unsurveyed cellars with blocked entrances, secured by bricks and stones, pose no structural risk as the load is not reliant on these obstructions, and if the ASI expert remove it carefully, the safety of the structure in question would not be jeopardized.

The plea emphasizes that establishing the religious character of settlement plot no. 9130 (Gyanwapi precincts) on August 15, 1947, necessitates evidence from both parties. To accomplish this, the plea asserts that conducting an ASI survey of the remaining blocked cellar is essential.

Hence, the petition, filed through Advocate Saurabh Tiwari, requests the ASI to conduct a scientific investigation/survey of the remaining cellars (specifically S1 & N1, and any other cellars if present) using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys and other modern scientific methodologies while ensuring no harm is caused to the existing structure. Additionally, a civil revision plea by Rakhi Singh is currently pending before the Allahabad High Court, urging for an Archeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the Wazukhana within the Gyanvapi complex.