*NEW DELHI – **Indian Supreme Court gives the most controversial verdict onthe Babri Mosque land case in Ayodhya.*
*The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that Hindus will be able to construct atemple on a disputed plot of land in Ayodhya. The verdict was announcedtoday (November 9) by a five-judge bench, headed by the chief justice ofIndia, Ranjan Gogoi.*
A trust will be set up by the Centre to construct the temple. Muslims willbe given five acres of land in Ayodhya to construct a mosque.
They ruled that it is an undisputed faith of Hindus that Lord Ram was bornunder one of the domes. The court should not interfere in faith, it hassaid.
However, the judges say the title of the land should be decided on legalprinciple. It has said that the Archaeological Survey of India’s conclusionthat the Babri Mosque was built over an existing structure is supported byevidence. It was not constructed on vacant land, say the judges.
The mere existence of a structure beneath [the mosque site] cannot be basisof claim to have title over the land today, says CJI Gogoi. Muslims cannotsay that they have composite title to the disputed site, he said.
The argument that the mosque was not built in the Islamic way has beenrejected. The demolition was a violation of rule of law, said CJI Gogoi. Inthe original ruling in the case, judges had ruled that the mosque was notbuilt in the Islamic way.
Read Top Stories
Officials have appealed for calm, and thousands of police and paramilitarytroops have been deployed in the city. Hundreds of people were detained onFriday amid fears of violence and Section 144 has been imposed in severalareas. Schools and colleges in the area have been closed and all roadsleading to the site have been blocked.
“Each and every security officer is committed to prevent minor skirmishesor large-scale riots after the court delivers its verdict,” said a seniorhome ministry official told *BBC*. “State governments have identifiedseveral schools to set up temporary jails if the need arises.”
The land, once the site of the Babri Mosque and where many Hindus claim isthe birthplace of their Lord Ram, has been a point of contention for over70 years, one that has often led to violence.
The dispute over the 2.77 acre plot turned violent on December 6, 1992 whena mob of Hindu nationalists razed the medieval mosque. It sparked communalriots across India, leaving thousands dead. Many say that clash led to ashift in the country’s political fabric from secularism to the Hindunationalism that colours the BJP-led country’s politics today.
