Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
The Centre today moved the Supreme Court seeking its permission to return the 67-acre acquired land around the disputed Ram Janambhoomi Babri Masjid site to original owners. In a fresh plea, the Centre said it had acquired 67 acres of land around the 2.77 acre disputed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid site.
The plea has said that the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas (a trust to promote construction of Ram Temple) had sought return of excess land acquired in 1991 to original owners.
Earlier, the apex court had ordered that the status quo be maintained with regard to the acquired 67 acres of land around the disputed site. The central government had acquired 67 acres of land around the disputed site in 1991.
“The centre is not touching the disputed area where the title suit is pending,” said Prakash Javadekar. “The BJP always believed that the temple has already been built and it has to be made magnificent,” he added.
In a move that is mostly symbolic, the centre has asked the court to end status quo on the non-disputed land, or the excess land acquired by the government in the temple town in Uttar Pradesh in 1993.
The petition filed yesterday mostly showcases the BJP-led government’s commitment to the Ayodhya cause as rightwing groups amp up the campaign for a temple at what they believe is the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The Supreme Court had ordered status quo on around 67 acres of land that was acquired by the government a year after the 16th century Babri mosque was razed by Hindu activists who believed it was built on the ruins of an ancient temple. Only 0.313 acres of the land is disputed, says the centre.
The Supreme Court was to hear the Ayodhya title suit today but the hearing was cancelled because one of the judges, Justice SA Bobde, was not available for medical reasons.
On Monday, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that the temple-mosque case must be heard in court without delay. “The Ayodhya case has been pending for the last 70 years. The Allahabad High Court order was in favour of the temple (in 2010), but then it is on hold in the Supreme Court now. This matter should be cleared soon,” news agency IANS quoted him as saying.
Last year, the Supreme Court rejected an early hearing on the Ayodhya case, posting it to January.
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi reconstituted the five-judge Constitution bench to hear the case after Justice UU Lalit recused himself saying he had been a lawyer in a related case. Justice Abdul Nazeer and Justice Ashok Bhushan were added last week.
The ruling BJP has been under pressure from right-wing groups, its own members as well as allies like the Shiv Sena to bring an ordinance to enable the temple construction.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, said that the government would wait for the judicial process to get over. “Let the judicial process be over. After the judicial process is over, whatever will be our responsibility as the government, we are ready to make all efforts,” he said in an interview to news agency ANI earlier this month.