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- The Hindu
Krishnadas Rajagopal
OCTOBER 06, 2018 19:22 IST
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10/10/2018 What are the Ayodhya appeals all about? - The Hindu
UPDATED: OCTOBER 06, 2018 19:56 IST
What is it?
On September 27, in the Ayodhya title suit appeals, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court,
in a majority opinion, decided against referring the question “whether offering prayers in a
mosque is an essential part of Islam” to a seven-judge Constitution Bench. With this, the court
has signalled that it will decide the appeals like any other civil suit, based on evidence, and pay
little heed to arguments about the “religious significance” of the Ayodhya issue and the
communal strife it has caused.
The Bench said the hearing would start from October 29, leading to the question whether the
court would deliver a judgment before the May 2019 general election. The appeals are against
the September 30, 2010, decision of the Allahabad High Court to divide the disputed 2.77 acre
area among the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. The court had relied on
Hindu faith, belief and folklore. It concluded that Lord Ram, son of King Dashrath, was born
within the 1,482.5 square yards of the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid premises over
9,00,000 years ago during the Treta Yuga. One of the judges added that the “world knows”
where Ram’s birthplace is, while another said his finding was an “informed guess” based on
“oral evidences of several Hindus and some Muslims” that the precise birthplace of Ram is
under the central dome.
Also read:
“So is the mosque not an essential part of Islam? Muslims cannot go to the garden and pray,”
their lawyer and senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan told the court. He asked the Bench to freeze
the hearing till this question is decided by a seven-judge Bench.
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10/10/2018 What are the Ayodhya appeals all about? - The Hindu
In their majority view, Chief Justice Misra and Justice Bhushan refused to send the question to
a seven-judge Bench. Their opinion said the observations were made in the context of the
Faruqui case, which was about public acquisition of places of religious worship. It should not
be dragged into the Ayodhya appeals. The minority decision authored by Justice Nazeer
dissented with the majority on the Bench, and said this observation about offering prayer in a
mosque had influenced the Allahabad High Court. He questioned the haste of the court.
What next?
All eyes are on the new Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. Justice Misra was also the lead
judge on the Ayodhya Bench. Chief Justice Gogoi may lead the Ayodhya Bench himself or
appoint another judge. With the Lok Sabha election nearing, a request to adjourn the case
until after the poll may also be made.
© The Hindu
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