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PremiumNEW DELHI :New Delhi: Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred the commencement of final hearing in the Ayodhya title dispute to 8th February, 2018. The court further instructed all the advocates appearing for all the parties to ‘work in harmony and see that all the relevant documents are ready and filed’, after counsel for Sunni Waqf Board, Kapil Sibal submitted that some exhibits and documents pertaining to the title suit have not be filed and served by the parties. The court also rejected Sibal’s plea to postpone the hearing to July 2019 i.e. post the Lok Sabha elections. He argued that the court’s judgement in the present case are bound to have political and social ramifications. Sibal was appearing on behalf of the Sunni Waqf Board. A specially constituted bench of chief justice Dipak Misra and justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer today began hearing into a total of 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad high court in four civil suits.The high court had then ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acre area at Ayodhya among the parties—the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the Lord Ram Lalla. Here are the latest updates:
Who he represents in court is Kapil Sibal's personal matter, Congress has nothing to do with it. Arun Jaitley ji was lawyer in Bhopal gas tragedy,does that mean whole of BJP is to be blamed?: Randeep Surjewala,Congress pic.twitter.com/hfW5Prlk1U
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2017
The Congress today stayed away from commenting on the Ayodhya dispute, saying the matter was subjudice. “The matter is subjudice. It is being heard by the Supreme Court. To comment on it will be unfair,” Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan told reporters at the party headquarters in New Delhi. He was replying to a question on his party colleague, Kapil Sibal, urging the Supreme Court to hear the appeals filed in the sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case in July 2019, after the Lok Sabha elections. Sibal, a lawyer, is representing the Sunni Waqf Board in the matter. (PTI)
Heavy security deployment was made in the twin towns of Faizabad and Ayodhya as the VHP and the Bajrang Dal plan to observe Shaurya Diwas (Day of Valour) while Muslim organisations plan Yaum-e-Gham (Day of Sorrow) to mark 25 years of Babri Masjid demolition.Taking note of the gravity of the situation and the advisory issued by the Centre, the Faizabad administration has made heavy security deployments in the two towns. Police along with the CRPF and RAF have been deployed on roads and sensitive localities of Ayodhya-Faizabad. Regular search operations of the vehicles, hotels and dharamshalas in Ayodhya are being conducted. (PTI)
Former union minister Swami Chinmayanand today accused the Congress of deliberately delaying the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The former minister of state for home said if the Congress wanted, it could have built a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, and recalled Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contribution in restoring the Somnath temple in Gujarat. “Somnath temple was demolished, and a mosque was built in its place. After Vallabhbhai intervened, the temple was rebuilt and restored. People had then hoped that Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya, but it never happened,” he said. Chinmayanand said former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had sought a year’s time to resolve the Ayodhya dispute, but did not take any concrete step. (PTI)
Ahead of the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, the central government has asked all states to remain cautious and ensure that there was peace and no incident of communal tension anywhere in India.In a communication to the states and union territories, the Union home ministry urged them to deploy adequate security forces at sensitive places and maintain extra vigil so that attempts to disturb peace could be foiled, a ministry official said today. The 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition could lead to demonstrations, protests and dharna by “both communities”, the ministry said, without naming them. (PTI)
#Visuals of high security from #Ayodhya ahead of 25th anniversary of Babri demolition tomorrow pic.twitter.com/HwmAPMqS5j
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 5, 2017
BJP president Amit Shah in Ahmedabad: “Today a surprising stand was taken in SC by Congress leader and Sunni Waqf Board lawyer Kapil Sibal ji, he said hearing should be deferred till after 2019 LS polls. Congress should clear its stand on this. Rahul ji is visiting temples in Gujarat but on the other hand Kapil Sibal is being used to delay Ram janmbhoomi case. Rahul ji should tell us what his view on this is.
भाजपा मांग करती है कि जल्दी से जल्दी श्री राम जन्म भूमि केस की सुनवाई होनी चाहिए, सर्वोच्च अदालत का फैसला जल्दी आना चाहिए और वहां पर एक भव्य राम मंदिर बनना चाहिए : श्री अमित शाह pic.twitter.com/yufBiQ6YZ1
— BJP (@BJP4India) December 5, 2017
In view of the 25th anniversary of Babri demolition on Wednesday, Centre has advised states and union territories to remain alert and take all precautions to maintain peace and communal harmony: Ministry of Home Affairs sources. (ANI)
What has the Sunni Waqf Board to do with 2019 Elections?
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) December 5, 2017
Kapil Sibal totally exposed ..represents the Congress' views more than the Waqf Board's view?@OfficeOfRG should speak out whether He stands with the TEMPLE or otherwise! https://t.co/VdaTElWrVg
Meanwhile, authorities have stepped up security across Ayodhya ahead of the 25th anniversary of Babri demolition tomorrow.
#Visuals of high security from #Ayodhya ahead of 25th anniversary of Babri demolition tomorrow pic.twitter.com/HwmAPMqS5j
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 5, 2017
Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed 8 February next year for hearing civil appeals regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute. The apex court also directed advocates on record of the appeals to sit together and ensure that all documents are filed and numbered. (PTI)
Good news is that the Supreme Court has taken the formula proposed by us on record: Wasim Rizvi,Shia Waqf Board Chairman on Ayodhya hearing pic.twitter.com/tSVdBti2a3
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2017
Waqf Board, Babri Action Committee also say they may boycott proceedings if hearing begins today. The Supreme Court questions why a title dispute should be heard by a seven-judge bench.Also read | Can Ayodhya become a symbol of our coexistence?Petitioners are pleading in the Supreme Court for reasonable time to translate, file and serve the copies of all the exhibits and relevant documents, which were filed before the Allahabad High Court bench at Lucknow. (ANI)
Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court that whenever this matter is heard, there are serious repercussions outside court and to preserve the decorum of law and order, and that he personally requests court to take this matter up on 15 July 2019, once all the pleadings are complete. (ANI)CNN-News18 report also says that the Sunni Waqf Board wants hearing by a larger Constitution Bench.
'Hawan' organised in #Ayodhya for construction of Ram temple pic.twitter.com/GadKFXVXZF
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 5, 2017
Kapil Sibal, who is representing Sunni Waqf Board, has demanded final hearing to be held in July 2019, after the General Elections, according to CNN-News18. The Supreme Court, however, has rejected the demand.Earlier, Sibal raised doubts over assertions of ASG Mehta that how come more than 19,000 pages of documents can be filed in such short time. Sibal told the apex court that he and other petitioners have not been served relevant documents of pleadings. (ANI)
'Hawan' organised in #Ayodhya for construction of Ram temple pic.twitter.com/GadKFXVXZF
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 5, 2017
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal is reading out in SC the details of exhibits filed by the contesting defendants before the Allahabad High Court, reports ANI. Sibal told the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court that all these exhibits are not filled before this court. He submitted, all the pleadings are not complete, ANI adds.Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta, representing the State of Uttar Pradesh rebutted all the averments of Kapil Sibal. Mehta, told SC that all the related documents and requisite translation copies are on record, ANI adds.
Supreme Court has commenced hearing in the Ayodhya dispute case.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday criticised Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat for his comment that only a Ram temple would be built at the disputed site in Ayodhya. Owaisi said Bhagwat had no authority to make such an “announcement”. “Who gave permission to Mohan Bhagwat that he announced in ‘Dharm Sansad’ that only a Ram temple would be built there and nothing else? Who is Mohan Bhagwat? “If you are saying so to intimidate us, remember that we cannot be intimidated,” the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad said. Speaking at a congregation of Hindu saints, mutt heads and VHP leaders at the ‘Dharm Sansad’ (parliament of religion) at Udupi in Karnataka late last month, Bhagwat had said only a temple would come up at the site and not any other structure. (PTI)
BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy on Monday affirmed that the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya would begin soon and it would be ready to receive devotees by next Diwali. “I have seen that our pleas are stronger than the opposition. They were defeated in the Allahabad High Court. They have now filed an appeal but they did not present new facts. So, I believe that we will win the court battle,” he said.(PTI)
The Yogi Adityanath government has submitted English translation of exhibits and documents likely to be relied upon, as these were in eight different languages.The top court had on 11 August asked the UP government to complete within 10 weeks the translation of the evidence recorded for adjudication of the title dispute in the high court. It had said it would not allow the matter to take any shape other than the civil appeals and would adopt the same procedure as was done by the high court. (PTI)
A battery of high profile lawyers including senior advocates K. Parasaran and C.S. Vaidyanathan and advocate Saurabh Shamsheri will appear for Lord Ram Lalla, the deity, and additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta will represent the Uttar Pradesh government.Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Anoop George Chaudhari, Rajeev Dhavan and Sushil Jain will represent other parties including All India Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara. (PTI)
Earlier, a sect of Muslims, under the banner of Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh, had approached the court offering a solution that a mosque could be built in a Muslim-dominated area at a “reasonable distance” from the disputed site in Ayodhya. However, its intervention was opposed by the All India Sunni Waqf Board which had claimed that judicial adjudication between the two sects had already been done in 1946 by declaring the mosque, which was demolished on 6 December 1992, as one which belongs to the Sunnis. (PTI)
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, an intervenor in the matter, had attempted to raise the issue of fundamental right of religion of the Hindus under Article 25 of the Constitution. Recently a group of civil rights activists also moved the apex court seeking intervention in the Ayodhya dispute and urged it to consider the issue saying it is not just a dispute over property but has several other aspects which would have far-reaching effects on the “secular fabric of the country”.
