Petitioner has Cong connections

Pause mode: Ayodhya breathes easy, politicos talk of reconciliation

Tripathi, a resident of Bhagwanpatti village in UP’s backward Ambedkar Nagar district, happens to be a relative of former UP Chief Minister and Senior Congressman Sripati Mishra. He is the son of Mishra’s maternal uncle.

Tripathi, a devout Hindu and author of several books on religion, retired as auditor from the state government in 1997. His family comprised Congressmen for generations.

Tripathi, who has two sons, has penned three books titled ‘Vaishno Devi’, ‘Vindhyachal Vyakhyanam’ and ‘Hanumat Vyakhyanam’, depicting the importance of Hindu gods and goddesses.

Mishra, who died in 2002, was a resident of Bijethwa village in Ambedkar Nagar district. He was chief minister for over two years from July 19, 1982 to August 3, 1984 and was speaker of the UP Legislative Council from 1980 to 1982.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had on September 17, 2009  rejected a PIL by Tripathi seeking deferment of the verdict and an out-court-settlement of the issue.
While two of the three judges, Justices S U Khan and Sudhir Agarwal, of the special/full bench of the HC dismissed the petition and imposed a hefty fine of Rs 50,000 on Tripathi, another judge of the bench, Justice D V Sharma, gave a dissenting note and favoured reconciliation.

An undeterred Tripathi, however, continued his fight for getting the matter resolved amicably through negotiations and knocked at the doors of the SC.

“The 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,” he contended in the PIL.