Adding a fresh twist to the ongoing controversy over ownership of the Taj Mahal, the Shia community in Lucknow has claimed that the 17th century monument of love was a Shia property as Mumtaz Mahal in whose memory it was a Shia.
The bench then said that it was not going to fast track the matter.
"As soon as a grand Ram temple is built in Ayodhya, it will restore the glorious history of Ayodhya," he said.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph would hear the appeals filed in the matter.
VHP national working president Alok Kumar also rejected questions about the muhurta of the event, saying the 'best advice' has been taken including from the Head of the Jyotish Department of the Banaras Hindu University on timing of the ceremony.
'The outbreak of COVID-19 in Ayodhya and surrounding areas is a matter of concern...Uttar Pradesh's minister Kamal Rani (Varun) lost life (due to the disease), while three other ministers are infected'
With the traditional proximity between Lucknow's Shias and the BJP being no secret, speculation is rife that the issue over which tension was heightened by the Shia community leader and cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawaad, was uncalled for at a time when the Id festival is just round the corner.
'The idea is to have a place where people can come together and bridge the gap. It will be a contemporary design for the future, and not have the shadows of the past' Ritwik Sharma reports.
Religious places including mosques have been closed for over a month now. And with clerics advising all to stay home and social distancing becoming the norm, people are unable to get together for prayers and Iftar, a ritual of breaking fast every evening, that are a key part of Islam's holiest month.
Naqvi expressed confidence that Muslims will abide by lockdown guidelines during the holy month of Ramzan.
The apex court had last year disallowed Swamy from intervening in the Ayodhya land dispute case.
The bench on October 16 had reserved the judgment after marathon hearing of 40 days.
Mohammad Minhajuddin had come to Delhi last year with a dream of starting his law practice in the national capital, but on December 15 he lost vision in one eye allegedly in police action in the Jamia Millia Islamia library. Minhajuddin, an LLM student, now wants to go back to his hometown in Bihar after completing his studies as he says he doesn't even feel safe in his university campus anymore.
The apex court said the parties in the matter should be ready to start the hearing on the appeals which are before it.
The Ayodhya issue is unlikely to die out anytime soon with parties vying to appropriate majority sentiments in varying proportions to suit their political agendas.
'We will not accept this lollypop. They must make clear that where they want to give us the land'
'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.'
Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas was formed by the members of the VHP on December 18, 1985, with the aim of constructing a grand temple at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
The 74-year-old senior advocate had given up practice following his courtroom spat with then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
'The political fallout of the verdict on national politics is pregnant with incredible opportunities.' 'Post-judgment politics can change the ground rules of election campaigning in the coming decades,' says Sheela Bhatt
'Today, the situation in the country is bad.' 'The distance between Hindus and Muslims is increasing.' 'If an out-of-court settlement is reached, then a cordial atmosphere will prevail in the country.'
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, which started the day-to-day proceedings on August 6 after mediation proceedings failed to find an amicable solution to the vexatious dispute, has revised the deadline for wrapping up the proceedings and has fixed it on October 17.
The bench took serious note of the submission of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the parties, that the appeals be heard in July 2019 after completion of the next Lok Sabha polls as the atmosphere at present was not conducive.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing the Muslim parties in the case, tore up a pictorial map.
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.
As we wave goodbye to 2019, we look back at the highlights of the year, in the numbers that made it memorable.
Apart from the chief minister and deputy chief minister, 13 cabinet and 10 ministers of state were allocated portfolios.
Modi also berated the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine in Bihar, calling it an alliance of "double-double yuvraj" (two crown princes) whose sole concern was to protect their "respective thrones".
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.
'It is not the duty of government to protect minority religions or promote it.'
They might have been fighting in the courts for ages to stake their respective claims over the much-debated Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya, but the rivals have heartily welcomed the view taken by the apex court on the issue.
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.
With this allocation of portfolios, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has got most of the 'plum' ministries.
Representatives of the Shia community on Wednesday flatly rejected Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief Ashok Singhal's offer to hold talks on the Ayodhya issue.Singhal had said that since the Allahabad high court had dismissed the Sunni Waqf Board's suit staking claim to the disputed Ramjanma bhoomi- Babri Masjid land in Ayodhya, the VHP would now hold talks with Shia organisations. "The VHP is now trying to incite a confrontation between Shias and Sunnis," said a Shia cleric.
The Muslim Community has reacted with shock at the latest verdict of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, which ruled that the disputed site is indeed Ram Janmabhoomi and dismissed the suit filed by the Sunni Central Waqf Board as it was barred by limitation.
Batting for minority rights, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday cautioned people against forces weakening the country's secular ethos and said communal harmony should not be disturbed over small, local incidents.
Justice S A Bobde will not be available on January 29.
Dhavan took to Facebook to disclose that he has been removed from further participation in the Ayodhya case on the 'nonsensical' ground that he is unwell.
The bench will be headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and also comprise of Justices S A Bobde, N V Ramana, U U Lalit and D Y Chandrachud.
Uttar Pradesh's powerful minister Azam Khan will host a gala event on the occasion of Samajwadi Party founder and president Mulayam Singh Yadav's 75th birthday in Rampur on Friday and Saturday.
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