Ayodhya :Verdict tomorrow

The Supreme Court  rejected the plea to defer the verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri masjid title suit slated to be delivered by the Lucknow bench of the Allahahad high court.

Hearing the special leave petition filed by retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chand Tripathi seeking deferment of the verdict to explore the possibility of an out-of-court settlement, a Supreme Court Special Bench comprising Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia and Justices Aftab Alam and K S Radhakrishnan decided to reject the plea.

Earlier, Attorney General G E Vahanvati, appearing before a three-judge special bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia, said the most preferred solution to the problem would be a settlement, but it has not taken place and the uncertainty which is prevailing should not be allowed to continue.

"Settlement, if any possible, we welcome it but we do not want any uncertainty," he told the bench which reserved judgment for 2 pm after two hours of arguments from various parties.

Ayodhya Down the years

The disputed Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri mosque site has been contentious for over a hundred years now.

The property dispute, or the title suit, went to court in 1949, soon after the idols of Ram and Sita were placed there. Today, the Supreme Court will decide whether the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court should pronounce verdict in the 60-year-old case just yet.

Chief Justice of India, SH Kapadia, along with Justice Aftab Alam and Justice KS Radhakrishnan will decide on petitioner Ramesh Chandra Tripathi's plea to defer the verdict.

The High Court bench is to decide who the land belongs to and what stood here first, a temple or a mosque. One side in the legal battle claims that this has been a mosque for 400 years. The other side says an ancient temple was demolished to build that mosque. They say this is the birthplace of Lord Ram

Ayodhya case

Supreme Court will hear today a petition that will decide whether the High Court of Allahabad should defer or not the delivery its judgement on one of the longest running title disputes.

A three judge bench, comprising of Chief Justice of India S. H. Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice K. S. Radhakrishnan, has been formed for today's hearing. The Attorney General of India has also been asked by the court to be present on behalf of the Government of India.

Earlier this month, the High Court of Allahabad had announced that it was ready to pronouce its judgement in Ram Janma Bhoomi - Babri Masjid title suit, and set 23-Sept-2010 as the judgement day.

Looking into the sensitivity of this case the central government had sounded a general security alert, leaders have been since moving around asking the people to maintain their calm. Bulk SMS and MMS services have been banned throughout the country.

A significant factor to be considered in today's relevance is that one of the judges on the bench hearing the title suit in the High Court is due to retire this month end and could have a delaying impact if the judgement is not pronounced before 1 October 2010.