SC disagrees hearing on Babri case appeals will take one year

The Supreme Court on Tuesday disagreed with a plea by Sunni Waqf Board and others in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi dispute that it would take at least one year to decide the civil appeals arising out of 2010 judgement of Allahabad High Court.

"The High Court delivered its judgement after holding hearing on 90 working days. The appeals will not take that much time," a three-judge bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer said.

The court's observations came after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhawan and Dushyant Dave, representing the Muslim side, contended that the apex court should not take up the hearing as it would involve considerable amount of time or at least one year. Dhawan said the matter goes back to 10th century and it cannot be decided like an ordinary suit.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing Ram Janambhoomi Nyas and others, contended that there has to be some sanctity for the apex court's order as it had on August 11 fixed the matter for December 5 for advancing arguments.

"This court has to decide if the HC passed right or wrong judgement," he said.

A total of 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad High Court in four civil suits in the dispute are pending before the apex court.

HC ruling

A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Hourt, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had said the land be partitioned equally among three parties - the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

Recently a group of civil rights activists also moved the apex court seeking intervention. They said it is not just a dispute over property but has several other aspects which would have far-reaching effect on the "secular fabric of the country".

A sect of Muslims, under the banner of Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh, had earlier 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 demolished on December 6, 1992 belongs to the Sunnis.