Security has been put on high alert across the nation as the Supreme Court of India is all set to deliver its verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, Sabarimala case and a host of other legal wrangles.
'The Muslim community is disappointed with this judgment.'
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy to intervene in the pending matters relating to the Ayodhya title dispute with his plea seeking construction of Ram temple at the site of demolished disputed structure.
Rajeev Dhavan had created a flutter in the packed courtroom on Wednesday when he tore the pictorial map provided by senior lawyer Vikas Singh, representing AIHM.
Talking to reporters in Pune, Swami Govind Devgiri Maharaj also said all chief ministers must be invited for the ceremony. "The PM has agreed to come to Ayodhya on August 5 for the 'bhoomi pujan' of Ram temple. He will be there for one-and-a-half hours.
'If you prove that a mandir was demolished and a mosque was constructed there, we will leave the place.'
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing the Muslim parties in the case, tore up a pictorial map.
Justice S A Bobde will not be available on January 29.
The apex court said an appropriate bench constituted by it will pass an order on January 10 for fixing the date of hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute title case.
The apex court had on July 11 sought a report on the mediation process and said that a day-to-day hearing might commence from July 25 if the court decides to conclude the mediation proceedings.
'This Sunday holds special significance for us, as we woke up to a new and transformed Sunday, with a feeling of relief that the lingering issue of Ayodhya dispute has been resolved once and for all'
Both Hindus and Muslim parties have filed review pleas against the verdict that paved way for a Ram temple at the disputed while giving 5-acre land for a mosque elsewhere.
The Waqf Board has sought time from the top court for setting up of a committee for exploring an amicable resolution of the vexatious issue.
With Parliament's winter session is to begin on November 18, the Union home and law ministries want to complete the process of formation of the board of trustees in time, reports R Rajagopalan.
The Supreme Court constituted three-member mediation committee, tasked with exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement in the decades-old, politically sensitive, Ayodhya's Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, has submitted its interim report in a sealed cover.
The new bench comprises Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer.
During the hearing, the 92-year-old senior lawyer had told the apex court that it must do 'full and complete justice' in all matters before it and that his last wish before he died was to finish the case.
The apex court, which delivered a historic unanimous judgment putting the curtains down on the vexatious legal battle that has torn the social fabric of the nation, said citizens of all faiths, beliefs and creeds 'seeking divine provenance' are both subject to law and equal before law under the Indian Constitution.
The Muslim parties also attacked 2003 ASI report which had found certain remains, idols and artefacts suggesting existence of a structure before Babri Masjid.
'Gods of different religions haven't warred, so we shouldn't either.'
The apex court requested the committee to inform it by August 1 about the outcome of the proceedings held till July 31.
Narendra Modi's agenda is to build a Ram mandir, Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com
There are many instances in the past where the top court sat through midnight to hear the special cases.
'When Uddhav Thackeray went in for surgery, he had presumed that Eknath Shinde would have looked after the Shiv Sena for him during this period.' 'He did not imagine that Shinde would use this period to backstab him.'
The appropriate bench will fix the schedule with regard to the hearing of appeals in the case. "We will fix the date of hearing of Ayodhya dispute case before the appropriate bench in January," the CJI said.
While, Mahasabha plea seeks 'limited review' of the verdict, another review plea has been filed by activists.
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered replacement of "old and worn out" tarpaulin sheet, ropes and other material with new ones.
By pegging the exact area of the Babri Masjid site at 0.313 acres, and not the original 2.77 acres, the government hopes to be in line with the court ruling in the 1994 Ismail Faruqui case which mentions return of land to original claimants once the exact area needed for acquisition is determined, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'The common Muslim of this country is not in favour of a review petition because he or she does not want that matters which have been settled are again raised and the community gets caught up in such things'
They also termed as 'unwarranted' and 'unfortunate', the submission of Muslim parties that the archaeological report be trashed.
The ASI, which had found artefacts, idols, pillars and other remains, stated in its report about the existence of a massive structure beneath the 'alleged Babri Masjid'.
If the 'shebaitship' of Nirmohi Akhara was accepted, then their evidence will also be accepted, the bench said on the 20th day of the hearing in the politically-sensitive case.
Mir Baki was not the commander who had led the invasion on Ayodhya, Mishra said leading the bench to ask him as to what he was trying to prove by referring to these historical books.
The issue had cropped up when a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was hearing the batch of appeals filed against the Allahabad high court's 2010 verdict by which the disputed land on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid area was divided in three parts.
'Hindutva doesn't teach you to stab someone in the back.'
While five pleas have been filed by Maulana Mufti Hasbullah, Moulana Mahfoozur Rehman, Mishbahuddin, Mohd Umar and Haji Nahboob, who are all supported by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the sixth one has been filed by Mohammad Ayub.
The counsel appearing for both the Hindu and Muslim parties expressed confidence over the ongoing mediation proceedings and said they are fully cooperating with the process.
The top court said there are serious infirmities in the oral accounts of Nirmohi witnesses that the disputed structure was not a mosque but the Janmabhoomi temple.
Hindu bodies except Nirmohi Akhara have opposed the suggestion of the apex court to refer the issue for mediation, while Muslim bodies have supported it.
'The court can strengthen the verdict by ensuring that Muslims don't feel shortchanged or cheated.'
