High Court refuses to defer Ayodhya verdict by Ramesh Chandra Tripathi; fines petitioner

Lucknow : The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday rejected an application for deferment of the Ayodhya verdict and penalized the petitioner with a hefty fine.

Rejecting the plea by Ramesh Chandra Tripathi for further deferment of the verdict which is scheduled on September 24, the court imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the petitioner.

The Lucknow bench maintained that the petition carried no merit.

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.

Even as the administrative machinery is geared up to combat any possible violence after a court verdict on the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid issue on Sept 24, a petition was submitted urging for a deferment in the verdict as the final judgement could lead to law and order problems.

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.

?In case any of the parties feels that further judicial consideration is required, there are legal remedies available which could be resorted to,? the Cabinet said in a statement.

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.

The entire nation will be awaiting the decision by the three-member bench, comprising of Justice S U Khan, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice D V Sharm, in one of the fieriest affairs in the country.

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.