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| India's Rapid Action Force soldiers patrol in front of a mosque in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010. An Indian court ruled Thursday that a disputed holy site in Ayodhya that has sparked bloody communal riots across the country in the past should be divided between the Hindu and Muslim communities, a lawyer involved in the suit said. The Muslim community said it would appeal the ruling in the 60-year-old case to the Supreme Court. Muslims revere the compound in Ayodhya as the site of the now-demolished 16th century Babri Mosque, while Hindus say it is the birthplace of the god Rama. |
The three-judge bench comprised Justices S.U. Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D.V. Sharma.
Justice Sharma decreed the title suit in favour of Hindus, said lawyer K.N. Bhatt, who represented the party on behalf of "Ram Lalla".
However, status quo would be maintained at the disputed site in Ayodhya for three months, claimed lawyers Ravi Shanker Prasad and Bhatt.
Justice Khan ruled that the disputed land belonged to both the communities, the lawyers claimed.
Some important points:
1. The area covered under the central dome of the disputed structure is the birthplace of Lord Rama as per faith and belief of Hindus.
2. Disputed structure was always treated, considered and believed to be a mosque and practised by Mohammedans for worship accordingly. However, it has not been proved that it was built during the reign of Babar in 1528.
3. In the absence of any otherwise pleadings and material it is difficult to hold as to when and by whom the disputed structure was constructed but this much is clear that the same was constructed before the visit of Joseph Tieffenthaler in Oudh area between 1766 to 1771.
4. The building in dispute was constructed after demolition of non-Islamic religious structure, i.e., a Hindu temple.
5. The idols were kept under the central dome of the disputed structure in the intervening night of December 22 and 23, 1949. Other Original Suits -- No. 3 of 1989 and No. 4 of 1989 -- are barred by limitation.
Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court website (www.allahabadhighcourt.in), where the verdict was to be put online, has crashed due to heavy traffic.
India's Twitter-sphere is abuzz with messages about the Ayodhya verdict. "Allahabad High Court", "Ayodhya Verdict" and "#ayodhya" were among the top 10 trends globally on Twitter at the time of the verdict.
Please Download all support documents:
India: Divide disputed site into 3 parts: Allahabad HC
Issues for Briefing
Justice SU Khan
Justice Sudhir Agarwal
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