The Allahabad high court will hear Wednesday a plea against the acquittal of all 32 accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party veterans L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, in the Babri mosque demolition case.
Chief Justice of India designate Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, who will assume charge as the 47th Chief Justice of India on November 18, in a wide-ranging interview discussed the significance of dispensation of timely justice, criticism of judges and the lack of infrastructure in judiciary.
"There are clearly two sides. On one side, there is an organisation of patriots in the form of BJP and on the other side, tukde-tukde gang have come together under the leadership of the Congress. It is for the people of Karnataka to decide now whether they are with the patriots or those who support people who want to divide this country," he added.
"Was this the place of birth of Lord Ram? Was the Babri mosque built after demolition of temple? And whether the mosque in question was built in accordance with the tenets of Islam?"
'Considering the fact that the Attorney General for India has already declined to grant his consent in the present matter for the reasons detailed in the said letter...the present request made to me is misconceived,' Mehta said in his letter addressed to lawyer Anuj Saxena.
"Crossing that 'Lakshman rekha' many times, this is especially more worrisome," the judge, who has recently been elevated to the top court, said.
'Whenever the Government of India throws the debris, they will not take such care of the mosque's debris and Muslims may object to such a move at that time.'
Even as the high court ruled out possibility of an out-of-court settlement on the Ayodhya issue, two special envoys sent by the Prime Minister's Office landed in Lucknow on Saturday to make yet another attempt to try find a solution to the issue. However, finding little scope for such last ditch effort, they quickly switched their plan to harp on the need for peace and harmony post September 24.
Former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri and 68 others were killed in the incident during 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.
The three judges of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court will give separate judgments in the Ramjanma bhoomi-Babri Masjid case at 3.30 pm on Thursday. Lucknow District Magistrate Anil Kumar Sagar told reporters that three synopses of the judgment of the three judges will be given to the media immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict. It will also be put up on the website of the court on the internet, he said.
BJP leader Vinay Katiyar alleged that the issue was being delayed 'under pressure' from the Congress, which denied the charge.
Citing that many Muslims fought in Mewar king Maharana Pratap's army against Mughal emperor Akbar, Bhagwat suggested that in India's history people from all faiths stood together whenever there was an attack on the country's culture.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president and Champat Rai general secretary of the Ram Temple trust at its first meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Born in Ayodhya, Ansari was the first to file the suit on the matter in the court of civil judge of Faizabad in 1949.
The BJP, however, denied the former three-time state chief minister's assertion on Ranjan Gogoi who was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member by the government in March.
The Sunni Central Waqf Board is expected to file a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, challenging the Allahabad high court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits.
The preliminary decree on the Allahabad high court verdict on Ram Jananbhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits has been prepared and the parties have been asked to file their objections or suggestions within six working days from Monday, an official said
The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha has decided to move the Supreme Court, challenging the Allahabad high court verdict on the Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits, contending that the entire disputed site should be allotted to Hindus. The Mahasabha will submit that the high court had erred in directing that 2.77 acres of disputed land be divided into three parts among Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhara.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board's legal committee will meet on Saturday next, October 9, and discuss the verdict in the Ayodhya title case suit, which was pronounced on September 30 by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday urged dialogue between the protesting farmers and the Centre while addressing a meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party office-bearers, during which he also invoked the border clashes with China and the construction of the Ram temple.
The issue combined with its alliance with anti-Congress parties in 1989 won the BJP 85 seats in Lok Sabha elections against mere two in 1984.
'Modi will not require the Ayodhya issue because he already has other emotive issues like Pakistan.' 'The BJP does not need the temple for political mobilisation anymore.'
A bench headed by Justice P C Ghose said the appropriate bench comprising him and Justice R F Nariman will be hearing the matter on Thursday. Justice Nariman was not present in the court on Wednesday.
Senior advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, told the bench that they have complied with the top court's direction and extended the tenure of the special judge till he delivers the judgment in the Ayodhya demolition case.
The 74-year-old senior advocate had given up practice following his courtroom spat with then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
'The governor has the discretion to appoint anybody as the chief minister.' 'The only condition is the person so appointed must be able to prove his majority on the floor of the House.'
'Now that the Ram mandir is done, we need to move on. And grapple with COVID-19, a sputtering economy, a belligerent China...' 'The temple may win a few more elections for the BJP, but by itself it won't solve the nation's growing problems of economic and social distress,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu were among those who attended the meeting, sources said.
President Droupadi Murmu administered him the oath at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Five members of a school management near Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district have been booked.
With the Allahabad High Court likely to deliver its verdict on the title suit of Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Mosque next month, a prominent Muslim group has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explore efforts to find out an out of court settlement.
Thackeray recalled former prime minister Vajpayee as saying, Ab Hindu maat nahi khayega (Hindus will not be defeated now), and added, "Hindus will not sit silent."
A Hindu body has moved the Supreme Court challenging a provision in the 1991 law that provides for maintaining the "religious character" of holy structures as it existed on August 15, 1947, in a bid to open the litigation route to reclaim disputed religious sites other than the Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya. The petition, which has challenged Section 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, assumes significance in the case of Kashi and Mathura, where two disputed mosques stand.
Here are the key figures among the 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case who were on Wednesday acquitted by a special CBI court in Lucknow of all charges.
Applying balm on the wounds of the two religious groups is a better course of action for the rulers. Common sense dictates the verdict be accepted in good grace by all sides, suggests Virendra Kapoor.
Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs who fought for the right of the community over the disputed land, says Muslims in Ayodhya won't be satisfied if the Sunni Waqf Board accepts the five acres in Dhannipur.
Attorney General K K Venugopal has refused his consent for initiating criminal contempt of court proceedings against Bollywood actor Swara Bhaskar for her alleged 'derogatory and scandalous' statements against the Supreme Court over the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid case verdict.
'I'm sure the central government must have been thinking over the technicalities, that how to pave the way for construction of the temple.'
The much awaited and much debated verdict in the Ayodhya case is finally out and the lead up to the same was pretty dramatic in Lucknow. A member of the legal team who was present in the court hall where the verdict was delivered said that there was pin drop silence in the court hall as the three judges read out their verdicts.
Swamy has contended that the pendency of the appeals in the SC has restricted his fundamental right to worship and enjoy dignity of life.
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