HC refuses to defer Ayodhya verdict; parties welcome move

Lucknow/New Delhi : The Allahabad High Court special bench on Friday rejected a plea for deferment of the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit case verdict and instead, levied a hefty fine on the petitioner.

A Special Bench of the Court, comprising Justices S U Khan, D V Sharma and Sudhir Agarwal, rejected the petition filed by one Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, seeking postponement of the judgement so that an out-of-court amiable settlement could be worked out.

The court decided to pronounce its verdict on the title suit on September 24 as announced earlier.

The Lucknow bench maintained that the petition carried no merit and decided to impose a hefty fine on the petitioner, though the exact amount was not declared.

Acting on the petition, the court had asked the parties whether they were ready for a compromise but none showed any interest.

In fact, the two parties, Sunni Central Board of Wakf and the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, on Thursday objected to further delay in the pronouncement of the judgement.

Meanwhile, the court?s decision was welcomed by political parties and other organisations.

While refusing to directly comment on the issue as it is before the court, Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in New Delhi, ?The Congress stance has been that either the issue gets resolved through mutual understanding and coordination, or the verdict of the court will be acceptable.?

Supporting the court?s move, RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said, ?There is unnecessary attempt to delay the verdict.?

Asked if the RSS will ensure its workers maintain peace after the verdict, he said, ?We are a law abiding organisation and we will make all efforts to maintain peace.?

Reacting to the court?s rejection of the petition, Zafar Gilani, counsel for Sunni Waqf Board, said, “If anyone is unhappy with the verdict, one can go the Supreme Court.”

The counsel of the Hindu group also exuded confidence in the Indian judiciary.

The verdict on the 60- year-old Ayodhya title suit to determine who owns the disputed land is being awaited with eagerness by both the Muslims and Hindus and with consternation by the governments tasked to prevent riots over the issue.

The government has plans to deploy about 1.5 lakh policemen on the streets along with 4000 paramilitary personnel in Uttar Pradesh and the cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh have been put on high alert.

The Union government has urged the public to maintain peace through newspaper advertisements in the aftermath of the verdict.

?It goes without saying that the judgement needs to be treated with the utmost respect. At the same time, we must remember the fact that the judgement, at this stage, is one step in the judicial process. The determination of the issues need not necessarily end with this judgment unless it is accepted by all parties,? the Union Cabinet said in a resolution on Thursday.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Sept 8, while hearing the case, asked all concerned parties to be present before the court on that date at 3:30 pm as the bench will decide who owns the 2.77 acres of disputed land on which Babri Masjid stood.

Over 2,000 people were killed in the riots that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid by Hindu kar sevaks on December 6, 1992, who claimed the Masjid was built after demolishing a Ram temple in 1528.