A Varanasi court on Thursday banned media outlets from reporting on the ongoing Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) investigation at the Gyanvapi mosque. The district court issued a notice prohibiting reporting on the matter unless the information is shared officially.
Per the order, ASI officials have been told not to speak with the media about the survey as well.
The judge, District Judge AK Vishwesh, in his order, emphasised that the sensitive nature of the survey work warranted formal information sharing rather than press reporting.
In his order, Judge Vishwesh's also underscored the sensitivity and confidentiality of the survey's findings. The ASI officers must present their report solely to the court and not the media, the order read.
It also explicitly stated that disseminating survey details to the press, social media or electronic platforms was neither "justified nor legal."
Citing the order, government advocate Rajesh Mishra asserted that ASI officers were mandated to withhold such information from all forms of media. The ASI team and other involved parties were also instructed not to comment or divulge information to the media.
The court passed the order on a plea by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the governing body responsible for the Gyanvapi mosque. They filed a formal application with the district court earlier this week seeking a media coverage ban on the ongoing survey.
They alleged that misleading and sensational news regarding the investigative process was being spread. Subsequently, a hearing was conducted on Wednesday, leading to the issuance of the court's directive on Thursday, Mishra said.
According to a Deccan Herald report, the Muslim representatives even threatened to "disassociate" themselves from the survey if steps were not taken to check the "rumour" about remaining idols in the mosque.
The ASI-led scientific survey work is underway at the Gyanvapi mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi to determine whether a 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple. Five Muslim representatives are also a part of the survey.
With agency inputs.
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