The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Allahabad high court’s order appointing an advocate commissioner to survey the disputed structure in Mathura in connection with the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi case.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta called the application seeking the appointment of a local commissioner “vague”.

The top court was hearing a plea of the Muslim side challenging the Allahabad High Court order.

“You can’t file a vague application for appointment of court commissioner. It should be very specific on the purpose. You can’t leave everything to the court to look into it,” the bench told senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Hindu side.

The apex court also issued notice to the Hindu bodies seeking their response while clarifying that proceedings before the High Court in the dispute will continue. The case will be taken up on January 23.