September 27, 2018
In a 2:1 majority verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared that there was no need for a larger bench to re-examine its 1994 judgement that a mosque is not integral to the practice of Islam, clearing the way for the apex court to hear the main Ayodhya title suit on October 29.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said the civil suit has to be decided on the basis of evidence and that the previous verdict has no relevance to it. Justice Ashok Bhushan, who read the judgement on behalf of himself and the CJI, said the bench must find out the context in which the five judges had delivered the 1994 verdict.
Justice S Abdul Nazeer, however, disagreed with the two judges and said whether the mosque is integral to the practice of Islam requires detailed consideration by taking into account the belief of religion. Referring to the top court’s recent order on female genital mutilation, Justice Nazeer said the present case must be heard by a larger bench.
The case whether the mosque is integral to the practice of Islam had cropped up when the three-judge bench, headed by CJI Misra, was hearing a batch of petitions against the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 verdict in which the disputed land on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid area was divided into three parts.
In a similar 2:1 majority ruling, a three-bench judge of the high court ordered that the 2.77 acres of land be divided equally among three parties, that is, the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
Meanwhile, reacting to the court order, advocate Rajeev Dhawan, representing litigant M Siddiq, said, “Majority judgment will please the majority, minority judgment will please the minority. The very problem we started off with hasn’t been resolved. Not about arithmetic, but of convincing everybody that the SC should’ve spoken in one voice.”
Welcoming the verdict, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) expressed hope that a “just verdict” will be delivered over the case. “Today, the Supreme Court has decided to hold a hearing on the Shri Rama Janmabhumi case from 29th October by a three-member bench. We welcome this decision and are confident that a just verdict will be reached over the case at the earliest,” the organisation said in a statement.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad working president Alok Kumar told ANI, “I am satisfied that this impediment has been defeated. The way is now clear for the hearing of the Ram Janmabhoomi appeals.”
“A most welcomed decision by S.C. as it will clear out the hurdle of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”- Editor, Vedic Upasna Peeth
Source : The Indian Express
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