Ayodhya case: A great sense of relief, says oldest litigant

"I welcome the Supreme Court's decision... In fact, the entire country would be happy with the decision... It would provide a great sense of relief to Hindus and Muslims of the country who have been waiting for the Ayodhya verdict for the last several decades," Ansari told IANS on telephone from Ayodhya, some 150 km from Lucknow.

"The decision by the Supreme Court will definitely help in ending the uncertainty over the issue... It's my appeal to members of both the communities that they should make every effort to ensure Hindu-Muslim unity and peace should not get affected in view of the judgement," he added.

The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking deferment of the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi title suit case at least until the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games are over.

The petition was filed by former bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripathi.
"We want the dispute should be resolved as early as possible, so that it could no longer become a political issue," said Ansari.