The Hindu : Ruling on ASI plea reserved

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 03, 2003

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Ruling on ASI plea reserved

By Our Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW JULY 2. The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court today reserved its ruling on the Archaeological Survey of India's application to allow it more time to complete the excavations near the disputed site in Ayodhya.

``The Court is getting an impression that there is slackness on the part of the ASI,'' the Bench observed during the course of arguments.

The ASI had requested the Court to give it three months' time between October and December next to complete its work and prepare a report. Digging would have to remain suspended because of the rains in the meantime, the application said.

Objecting to the ASI request, the Central Sunni Waqf Board, one of the main plaintiffs, said the agency had been delaying the work for political reasons. The ASI demand for more time was unwarranted and uncalled for, its counsel, Jafaryab Jilani, said.

The Bench demanded to know from the ASI on whose instructions the agency had stopped excavations. The Court ordered that unless it (the Court) issued specific instructions, excavation work would not be stopped in future.

The ASI team leader, Hari Manjhi, informed the Court that work had been completed in 68 of 84 trenches while in 16 it was still incomplete.

Mr. Jilani said the ASI was trying to delay the excavation operations till December to enable its political masters to derive electoral benefits during the Assembly polls later this year.

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