Ban on bulk SMS, MMS extended till Oct 4

Ban on bulk Short Message Services (SMSes) and Multi-media Messaging Services (MMSes) was extended till Oct 4 by the Government of India on Friday as a precautionary measure for maintaining peace after the Ayodhya title suit verdict .

Earlier, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) extended the ban till September 30 in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, reports said.

The DoT had banned bulk SMSes and MSMes on September 22 initially as the Ayodhya title suit verdict was scheduled on September 24.

The ban was later extended and it was likely to be lifted from October 1.

The measure was put to prevent miscreants from spreading rumours or lashing up communal emotions.

Treading cautiously on the communal minefield, a three-member Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday (September 30) passed a verdict upholding the Hindu claim that the disputed site is the birthplace of Lord Rama but ruled that the land would be divided into three parts with one third going to the Muslims along with one third for the Hindus.

Rejecting the Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara?s title suit, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday said Hindu deity Lord Ram was born indeed on the disputed Ayodhya site, bringing a temporary closure on the 60-year-old dispute since the judgement can now be challenged in the Supreme Court.