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Rediff.com  » News » Babri Masjid or Ram Janmabhoomi? Verdict on Sep 24

Babri Masjid or Ram Janmabhoomi? Verdict on Sep 24

Last updated on: September 8, 2010 18:06 IST

Image: File photos of the Babri Masjid demolition

The much-awaited verdict on the title suit of the disputed site at Ayodhya will be pronounced on September 24 by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court.

The long pending case is about the ownership of the Ayodhya land to which Hindus and Muslims have been making rival claims over the past one and a quarter century.

While Hindus claimed the land to be the site of the birthplace of their most revered Lord Ram, Muslims asserted their right over the same as the site of a 16th century mosque, claimed to have been built by Mughal emperor Babur in the ancient town of Ayodhya, nearly 120 km from Lucknow.

The Babri Masjid at the site was razed on December 6, 1992, by karsevaks and right-wing extremists who claimed that it was the Ram Janmabhoomi site. The Babri Masjid demolition had triggered unprecedented communal riots, which had claimed thousands of lives.

Reportage: Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

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Babri Masjid or Ram Janmabhoomi? Verdict on Sep 24


"The judgment will be pronounced by the three-judge special bench on September 24," said a notice issued by the high court registrar.

A three-judge special bench comprising Justice S U Khan, Justice D V Sharma and Justice SudhirAgarwal had earlier concluded the hearing in the long pending case in July, and reserved the verdict.

Since then, speculation has been rife about the possible date of the judgment, and over its social and political repercussions.

Babri Masjid or Ram Janmabhoomi? Verdict on Sep 24


The court has to answer three fundamental questions: "Is the disputed spot in Ayodhya the birthplace of Lord Ram? Was the Babri mosque built after the demolition of a temple? Was the mosque in question built in accordance with the tenets of Islam?"

Apprehensive about a repeat of the communal violence, the Uttar Pradesh government has already sought the deployment of 400 companies (nearly 35,000 personnel) of paramilitary forces from the Centre.

While there will be heavy deployment of security personnel in and around the twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad, central forces will also be kept ready in all other communally sensitive cities and towns of the state.