New Delhi, February 13
The Supreme Court today rejected the Centre’s plea to hear the Ayodhya case before February 21 even as it admitted the petition of Mohammad Aslam Bhure, on whose pleadings the apex court had stayed any religious activity on both disputed and undisputed land.

The petition filed by the Union Government to be heard on February 21 sought the vacation of the stay, banning religious activity on the 77 acres acquired by the government after demolition of the disputed structure in 1992.

An early hearing of the petition was sought by Solicitor-General Kirti Rawal while mentioning the matter before a Bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Mr Justice S.P. Sinha and Mr Justice A.R. Lakshamanan.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad had stated that the Dharam Sansad would announce the temple construction programme on February 22 if the government failed to hand over the undisputed land.

The government application sought vacation of the apex court’s March 13, 2002 order by which on the eve of the controversial “shiladaan” ceremony organised by the VHP, the court had banned any kind of religious activity, including “shiladaan”, on the acquired undisputed land.

In his application Bhure said the apex court in 1994 while upholding the acquisition of disputed land had made it clear that “it cannot be used for any anti-secular purpose”.

His application will come up for hearing on February 21 before a Bench headed by Chief Justice V.N. Khare along with Centre’s plea for vacating the apex court order banning any kind of religious activities in the undisputed land.

Requesting the court to reject Centre’s plea the petitioner drew the court’s attention to VHP leaders Praveen Togadia’s warning to the government to face “peoples’ agitation” if the acquired land was not handed over to the VHP for temple construction.

Bhure alleged that the VHP leaders have been emboldened by the Centre’s move to vacate the Supreme Court stay on the religious activities on the undisputed land and they (VHP) have started rushing in fresh stocks of building materials to their workshops in Ayodhya.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today directed the hearing in the open court of a petition seeking review of its order of November 29, last year, upholding a decision of the Uttar Pradesh Government to allow the trial of Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and seven others in the Babri Masjid demolition case by a Rae Bareilly court.

The direction was issued by a three-Judge Bench comprising Mr Justice S Rajendra Babu, Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Mr Justice Arun Kumar.

The petitioner urged the court to order de novo hearing of the case permitting him to make oral and written arguments.