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NEW DELHI/ LUCKNOW: The much awaited verdict on Babri Masjid at Ayodhya would be pronounced by Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court at Thursday afternoon. The Supreme Court on Tuesday revoked the stay order on the Allahabad high court on Babri Masjid–Ramjanambhoomi title suits.
Soon after the Apex Court’s decision, Officer-on-Special Duty of the Allahabad High Court Harishankar Dubey told media persons that the three-member of the court comprising Justice S.U. Khan, Justice Sudhir Aggarwal and Justice D.V. Sharma would pronounce the judgment of the court on Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid on Thursday.
In Supreme court Attorney General G E Vahanvati, appearing before a three-judge special bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia, said the most preferred solution to the problem would be settlement but it has not taken place and the uncertainty which is prevailing should not be allowed to continue.
The hearing started with senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi put forth arguments on behalf of a retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chand Tripathi on why the delivery of the verdict should be postponed and efforts be made to reach an amicable settlement outside the court.
Besides the Chief Justice, the special bench also includes Justices Aftab Alam and K S Radhakrishnan.
The Sunni Central Waqf Board and Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, two conflicting parties to the title suit, have ruled out the scope of reconciliation in their affidavits filed in the apex court.
On Friday the apex court stayed the pronouncement of verdict by the Allahabad High Court scheduled for September 24 on four title suits. While entertaining the special leave petition to defer the judgment for resolution of disputes through negotiations the apex court had referred the matter to the chief justice for posting it before a larger bench. The interim order by the court said that they are referring the issue to the Chief Justice in view of the divergent views expressed by them on staying the pronouncement of the verdict by the high court. Attorney General G E Vahanvati who has been asked to assist the Court will inform the court about the Centre’s stand on the issue.
Meanwhile all political parties have welcomed the Supreme Court dismissing the plea for deferment of judgement on Ayodhya by the Allahabad High Court.
Reacting on the Supreme Court ruling, Law Minister Veerappa Moily said, "Nobody wants uncertainty prolonged." He said that the people of India were mature enough to maintain communal harmony. ‘Anybody can come to the Supreme Court’. He said: “The government has maintained secular, impartial stand and will continue to do so," Law Minister however said that he always lent support for compromise.
Whereas Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said that whatever Allahabad Court decides should be accepted and made an appeal for maintaining peace. Prakash Karat of CPI (M) expressed similar sentiments.
CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta has appealed to the people to respect the judicial verdict and not fall prey to any provocation. Ram Madhav of the RSS said, the Supreme Court has done the right thing by dismissing the petition for deferment of the judgments.
Chronology of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya
1528 The Babri Masjid was built in Ayodhya in 1528. Hindu groups claim it was built after demolishing a temple.
1853 The first recorded communal clashes over the site date back to this year.
1859 The colonial British administration put a fence around the site, denominating separate areas of worship for Hindus and Muslims. And that is the way it stood for about 90 years.
1949 In December of that year, idols were put inside the mosque. Both sides to the dispute filed civil suits. The government locked the gates, saying the matter was sub-judice and declared the area “disputed”.
1984 The movement to build a temple at the site, which Hindus claimed was the birthplace of Lord Ram, gathered momentum when Hindu groups formed a committee to spearhead the construction of a temple at the Ramjanmabhoomi site.
1986 A district judge ordered the gates of the mosque to be opened after almost five decades and allowed Hindus to worship inside the “disputed structure.” A Babri Mosque Action Committee was formed as Muslims protested the move to allow Hindu prayers at the site.
1989 The clamour for building a Ram temple was growing. Fronted by organizations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, foundations of a temple were laid on land adjacent to the "disputed structure."
1990 The then BJP president Lal Krishna Advani took out a cross-country rathyatra to garner support for the move to build a Ram temple at the site. VHP volunteers partially damaged the Babri mosque. Prime Minister Chandrashekhar intervened and tried to negotiate with the various groups. But talks failed.
1991 Riding high on the success of Advani’s rathyatra, the BJP became India’s primary opposition party in Parliament and came to power in Uttar Pradesh.
1991 The movement for building a temple gathered further momentum with Karsevaks or Hindu volunteers pouring into Ayodhya. Bricks were sent from across India.
1992 December 6 The Babri mosque was demolished by Karsevaks. Communal riots across India followed. 1992 December 16 Ten days after the demolition, the Congress government at the Centre, headed by PV Narasimha Rao, set up a commission of inquiry under Justice Liberhan.
1993 Three months after being constituted, the Liberhan Commission began investigations into who and what led to the demolition of the Barbri mosque.
2001 Tensions rose on the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque as the VHP reaffirmed its resolve to build a temple at the site.
2002 February 27 At least 58 people were killed in Godhra, Gujarat, in an attack on a train believed to be carrying Hindu volunteers from Ayodhya. Riots followed in the state and over 1000 people were reported to have died in these.
2003 The court ordered a survey to find out whether a temple to Lord Ram existed on the site. In August, the survey presented evidence of a temple under the mosque. But Muslim groups disputed the findings.
2003 September A court ruled that seven Hindu leaders, including some prominent BJP leaders, should stand trial for inciting the destruction of the Babri Mosque.
2004 November An Uttar Pradesh court ruled that an earlier order which exonerated LK Advani for his role in the destruction of the mosque should be reviewed.
2007 The Supreme Court refused to admit a review petition on the Ayodhya dispute.
2009 The Liberhan Commission, which was instituted ten days after the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992, submitted its report on June 30 – almost 17 years after it began its inquiry. Its contents were not made public.
2010 July- High Court wraps up title suit hearing, verdict awaited.
2010 Sep 23, – A day ahead of the Allahabad High Court verdict, the Supreme Court stayed the judgment.
2010 The Allahabad High Court to pronounce its verdict on four title suits relating to the Ayodhya dispute on September 30, 2010