Self-effacing judge puts nation above everything else

Verdict epilogue

But for Justice Sibghat Ullah Khan, the judgment, grounded as it was in legalese and facts as he perceived them, could not be above the nation. In the epilogue to the verdict, Justice Khan, one among the three-judge Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court  which delivered the judgment Thursday, quotes an Urdu couplet of Allama Iqbal to drive home his message to Indians to be restrained in their reactions.

Watan ki fikr kar nadan, musibat anewali hai, teri barbadiyon ke mashware hain asmano mein.....na samjhoge to mit jaoge e hindostan walon, tumhari dastan tak na hogi dastano mein (Think of the nation...difficult times are ahead..if you do not understand..even your history will not be in the history).

“We must realise that such things (demolitions) do not happen in quick succession. Another fall and we may not be able to rise again, at least quickly,” the judge said, urging the people to put nation before everything else, even a court order. “Today the pace of the world is faster than it was in 1992. We may be crushed,” Justice Khan cautioned.

Urging religious groups and the litigants in the title suit to follow the principles the personalities worshipped as God stood for, he said Lord Ram epitomised the supreme quality of ‘tyaga’ or sacrifice. There were references of such sacrifice in the Quran too, he said. “When Prophet Mohammad entered into a treaty with the rival group at Hudayliyah, it appeared to be abject surrender even to his staunch supporters. However, the Quran described that as a clear victory and it did prove so. And within a short span from then, Muslims entered Mecca as victors and not a drop of blood was shed,” he added.

“I have not delved too deep in history and archaeology as this exercise was not absolutely essential to decide the suits. Also, I was not sure as to whether at the end of the tortuous voyage, I would have found a treasure or faced a monster (treasure of truth or monster of confusion worst confounded),” the judge said.

Then, having no major grasp of history, Justice Khan did not want to be caught in the crossfire of historians. He quoted a Supreme Court judgement (in Karnataka Board of Waqf vs Government of India) in which it has held that as far as a title suit of a civil nature was concerned, there was no room for historical facts and claims.

He quoted a SC judgment (in Karnataka Board of Waqf vs Government of India) in which it has held that as far as a title suit of a civil nature was concerned, there was no room for historical facts and claims.

“Reliance on borderline historical facts will lead to erroneous conclusions,” he said. “The judge also quoted Charles Darwin to counsel  Muslims to ‘ponder’ over their role in the country and the world. Muslims must also ponder that at present the entire world wants to know the exact teachings of Islam in respect of relationship of Muslims with others,” he said.

“Muslims have been rulers here, they have been ruled and now they are sharers in power (of course junior partners). They are not in majority but they are also not a negligible minority. 

“In other countries, either the Muslims are in huge majority that makes them indifferent to the problem in question or in negligible minority that makes them redundant. In contrast, Indian Muslims have inherited the huge legacy of religious learning and knowledge here,” the judge said.

For this reason, Indian Muslims were therefore in the best position to tell the world their correct stand. Let them start with their role by resolving the conflict at hand, he added.