THE Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Saturday its verdict in the politically sensitive case of Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya. The apex court is likely to pronounce judgement at 10:30 AM.

 

A notice regarding the pronouncement of judgement by a Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, was uploaded on the official website of the Supreme Court late on Friday evening.

 

Other members of the bench are Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer.

The bench on October 16 had reserved the judgement after marathon hearing of 40 days.

Hours before the notice, the CJI in the pre-noon of Friday held a meeting with Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari and DGP Om Prakash Singh who apprised him about the security arrangements made to maintain law and order in the State. The meeting was held in the CJI’s chamber, sources said.

 

Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgement, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. Clerics and priests here have appealed to people to honour the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute and respect religious sentiments. The judgement in the case is expected to be pronounced before CJI Ranjan Gogoi retires on November 17.

 

“We should all respect the judgement. We should exercise restraint and not hurt religious sentiments of any community,” Imam of the Lucknow Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali told PTI.

 

He said an all-religious meeting was recently organised at the Islamic Centre here to discuss several aspects before the judgement. “The Ayodhya case is the biggest and most sensitive case of independent India. Hence, it is the responsibility of every citizen to honour the verdict and maintain peace,” Mahali said.

 

He appealed to all clerics to tell Muslims “not to feel afraid and repose their faith in the Constitution and the judiciary.

Spokesperson of the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) Maulana Yasoob Abbas said, “Every person irrespective of any religion must honour and respect the judgement of the Supreme Court.” “We have full faith in the judiciary and the Constitution of India. We will stand with the judgement of the apex court. People should talk about development of their homes, cities, state and nation and not be swayed away by religious sentiments,” he said.

 

Priest at the Dakshinmukhi Hanuman Mandir in Hazratganj Sarvesh Shukla said, “My only appeal to the people is to honour and respect the judgement of the SC in the case.”

 

Father Donald De Souse, Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Lucknow told PTI: “Ours is a functional democracy, and rule of law has to be followed by all. The court’s judgement has to be fully respected by everyone without any bias. This is called ‘sanskaar’.”

 

Verdict should not be seen... be a matter of victory or loss. My appeal to countrymen is that it should be our priority that the verdict should strengthen India’s great tradition of peace, unity and amity,” he said.