SC to pronounce verdict in Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid case on Saturday

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 8

The Supreme Court will pronounce on Saturday its verdict on the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya.

A five-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi will pronounce judgment at 10:30 am, the top court announced on its website.

The Bench – which also included Justice SA Bobde, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer – had reserved the judgment on October 16 after marathon day-to-day hearing which went on for 40 days. 

The Bench will be deciding on 14 cross-appeals against the Allahabad High Court’s September 30, 2010, judgment equally dividing the 2.77 acre disputed land between Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara and Muslims.

“I don’t know of a similar case heard by any other court anywhere else,” Justice Bobde—who is to take over as the 47^th CJI on November 18 – had told The Tribune in an interview while talking about the Ayodhya case.

Ahead of the verdict, Chief Justice Gogoi on Friday held a meeting with UP Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari and DGP Om Prakash Singh to take stock of the situation.

The officials are understood to have briefed the CJI on steps taken to maintain law and order in the state in view of the scheduled verdict on the vexed sensitive issue which has defied any solution so far, sources said.

On Thursday, the Centre sent advisories to all states and Union Territories (UTs) to remain alert and ensure security in sensitive areas. The Ministry of Home Affairs has dispatched around 4,000 paramilitary personnel for security deployment in Uttar Pradesh.

A general advisory has already been sent to all states and Union Territories asking them to deploy adequate security personnel in all sensitive places and ensure that no untoward incident takes place anywhere in the country.

The MHA has also rushed 40 companies of paramilitary forces to Uttar Pradesh to assist the state government in maintaining law and order. A company of paramilitary forces comprises about 100 personnel.

While the appeals were filed in 2010 itself but the matter could not be taken up mainly because of the fact that voluminous documents in as many as six languages had to be translated into English – which is the official language of the Supreme Court.

The court started hearing after mediation attempts to resolve the dispute failed. But later, the mediation was revised and it went on simultaneously.

Hindus believe that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya thousands of years ago. During Mughal emperor Babur’s rule, a mosque was constructed at the place in 1528 after destroying the temples existing there, the Hindu parties contended.

The Hindu parties have contended that Muslims have several places for offering namaz in Ayodhya. However, for Hindus the place of birth of Lord Ram remains the same and it can’t be changed.

On December 6, 1992, the disputed structure was demolished by Hindu activists and since then there exists a makeshift temple at the disputed site. Senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharti are facing trial in the demolition case.