The Allahabad High Court on Thursday allowed a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah premises adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura. The court agreed to the appointment of an advocate commissioner to oversee the survey of the mosque, which the petitioners claim holds signs suggesting that it was a Hindu temple once.

The court said the modalities of the survey will be discussed at the next hearing on December 18. The order on the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah issue is the second temple-mosque dispute in which the high court has given its nod to a survey over the past months. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) recently completed a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque next to Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath temple, but has sought more time from a local court to submit its report.