Lawyers firm on court verdict in Babri case

A lawyer, associated with one of the main plaintiffs in the title suits, has made it clear that his client wanted a “decision” in the case and not a “negotiated settlement”.

The lawyer also claimed that the counsel of some other parties also did not favour a negotiated settlement of the issue during their meeting with Justice Sudhir Agarawal, one of the three judges, whose bench was scheduled to pronounce the verdict on September 24.

The lawyers also opposed the bunch of public interest litigations (PIL), which were filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday, seeking to defer the judgement and settle the issue through mutual negotiations.
The court had on Tuesday said it would hear the PILs on Friday and had asked the lawyers of the parties concerned to be present on that day to express their views.
“A majority of lawyers are opposed to the PILs,” said a lawyer who represents one of the main plaintiffs. Some lawyers said the aggrieved party could always approach the Supreme Court.

The PILs have contended that the order of the court might not be accepted by the party if the judgement went against it.

“Besides it (verdict) may also lead to communal violence and riots in the country at a time when the country is going to host the Commonwealth Games,” the PILs contended further.The PILs have urged the court to defer its verdict and also take steps to resolve the matter through negotiations.

Significantly, the court had also kept alive the chances of an out-of-court settlement of the vexed issue and held closed door discussions with the lawyers of the concerned parties in this regard soon after reserving its verdict in July.
Centre should intervene: Katiyar

Lucknow, DHNS: Firebrand BJP leader Vinay Katiyar, one of the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, on Wednesday called for the Central government’s intervention to resolved the vexed temple-mosque ownership issue.

Speaking to reporters here Katiyar, who had represented Faizabad Parliamentary constituency under which Ayodhya falls, once favoured a negotiated settlement of the dispute although he made it clear that he was for a grand Ram temple at the disputed territory. “The Centre should become a party at the forthcoming hearing in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday next,” he said.