No out-of-court settlement for Ayodhya case

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Friday refused to defer its verdict on the title suit of the disputed site at Ayodhya.

The long pending case is about the ownership of the Ayodhya land to which Hindus and Muslims have been making rival claims over the past one and a quarter century.

The court dismissed an application seeking an out-of-court settlement of the Ayodhya title suit, which was filed a couple of days ago. It also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, who had sought a court order directing both parties to settle the matter out-of-court or even take the matter into arbitration, as the fallout of this verdict could be violent.

While Hindus claim that the land is the site of the birthplace of their most revered Lord Ram, Muslims assert their right over the same as the site of a 16th century mosque, claimed to have been built by Mughal emperor Babur in the ancient town of Ayodhya, nearly 120 km from Lucknow.

The Babri Masjid at the site was razed on December 6, 1992, by karsevaks and right-wing extremists who claimed that it was the Ram Janmabhoomi site. The Babri Masjid demolition had triggered unprecedented communal riots, which had claimed thousands of lives.

Both the central and state governments have appealed for peace. Leaders from both teh communities too have appealed for peace and said that violence should be avoided at any cost.