India’s supreme court stops plans for survey of centuries-old mosque

India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday halted plans for a survey aimed at determining if Hindu relics and symbols can be found in the Shahi Eidgah mosque in the northern city of Mathura, Reuters reported.

The court statement mentioned that the application filed for appointment of the local commission was “very vague”. The ruling comes just days before another key temple, built on a razed mosque, is set to be inaugurated in the town of Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hindu hard-liners linked to Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claim that Islamic invaders and rulers destroyed Hindu temples over several centuries.