In her affidavit, DG V Vidyavathi said the ASI had the expertise of working with international bodies. The court had earlier fined the ASI DG for a delay in filing the affidavit as it had ordered.
The court has given other parties to the case, including the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee, 10 days to file their reply and posted the matter for next hearing on November 11. It also extended the stay on the ASI survey of the masjid, ordered by a lower court, till November 30.
In a hearing in August, the HC had remarked the affidavit filed by the ASI in response to the mosque committee’s submission was “sketchy”. It then directed the DG to file a “personal affidavit” since the matter was of “national importance” with the suit pending before the trial court since 1991.
However, the DG did not file the reply within the stipulated deadline and on the following date of hearing on October 18, the court fined the official ‘10,000, while setting Monday (October 31) as the last date for filing the reply. The hearing is related to the matter wherein the mosque committee has challenged a Varanasi court’s order last year calling for ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.
The ASI has submitted in the affidavit, filed through senior advocate Manoj Kumar Singh, that it functioned under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958, is a competent body not only for maintenance conservation and preservation of the archaeological monuments and protected monuments but is also an expert body for conducting archaeological exploration and excavation research, having been in charge of crucial excavations such as Harappan site Dholavira and Hastinapur, among others. The body said it was “competent and capable” to conduct the exercise if the high court or any other court directed it to do so.
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