Babri Masjid dispute case verdict on Sept 24

The special bench comprising Justices S U Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and Dharam Veer Sharma, hearing the suits, conveyed this to the lawyers concerned on Wednesday. The court had earlier completed the hearing on the matter on July 26 and had reserved its verdict, indicating that the verdict was likely after September 15.

The case, which began in the Faizabad civil court about 60 years ago, was shifted to Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench in 1989. The special bench had been hearing the suits on a daily basis since January this year.

Significantly, the court had also kept alive the chances of an out-of-court settlement of the issue and held closed door discussions with lawyers concerned soon after reserving its verdict.

While it took 60 years for the conclusion of the hearing of the matter, as many as 87 witnesses, including 54 from the Hindu side and 33 from the Muslim side, deposed before the court and were examined. The Nirmohi Akhara is the main Hindu plaintiff in the case and the Sunni Central Waqf Board is representing the Muslim side.

The lawyers from both the sides expressed satisfaction that the case would finally come to a conclusion after such a long time.

UP seeks more forces

Meanwhile, the Mayawati government has asked the Centre for 63,000 additional paramilitary personnel to deal with any law and order problems that may arise after the court verdict.

The Home Ministry has already prepared a contingency plan to deal with any situation arising out of the Allahabad High Court judgement. In an advisory, the Home Ministry has asked all states and UTs to give maintaining law and order “top most priority” as the judgement has the potential to “evoke sharp reactions”.