New Delhi, September 30 : Sixty years after it first went to court, there shall be a verdict in the Ayodhya title suit today afternoon. This, after the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a petition seeking that the verdict be deferred and said the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court could go ahead and deliver judgement on the property dispute.
The High Court is expected to deliver its verdict after 3 pm.
The verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute will decide whether the 2.7 acres of disputed land on which the Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished on December 6, 1992, belongs to the Sunni Central Waqf Board or to the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.
In the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Chief Justice of India HS Kapadia read out a one-line order to reject the petition of retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chand Tripathi, who had sought that the verdict be deferred and the matter be settled through reconciliation. Justice Kapadia said, “Having considered the detailed arguments advanced in this cases, we are of the view that the special leave petitions deserve to be dismissed. Accordingly, we hereby pass the following order: Special leave petition (C) Nos 27466-27467 of 2010 stands dismissed.”
The court heard arguments for over two-and-a-half hours before announcing its order. The decision of the three-judge bench – comprising Chief Justice Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice KS Radhakrishnan – was unanimous.
The Centre has, meanwhile, appealed to people of the nation to keep calm once the judgement is announced. Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have issued appeals.
While most political parties, religious groups and all associated with the dispute have said they would respect the verdict, the Centre and the state governments are taking no chances. The country is on high alert, forces have been mobilised and there is unprecedented security in sensitive areas.
There is strict vigil in Faizabad. More than 20,000 securitymen are on alert, there is arrangement for aerial surveys. But schools and colleges are open and as of now everything normal.
SECURITY MEASURES
* 1,90,000 security personnel in Uttar Pradesh
* 19 places have been identified as “sensitive.”
* Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have been identified as trouble-prone.
* Central forces would be 10 minutes away and on call with extensive deployment near sensitive spots.
* India Air Force aircraft would be on standby to transport troops to eight places across the country.
* Ban on bulk SMSes continues.
* No pillion riders and parking not allowed near restricted sites in Delhi, Hyderabad.
–Agencies–