M A I N   N E W S

SC orders status quo on Ayodhya; rejects govt plea
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 31
Stay on all religious activity in the undisputed land in Ayodhya would continue with the Supreme Court today rejecting the Centre’s plea challenging the earlier order of the apex court.

The status quo order of March last year “should be operative till the disposal of the title suits by the Allahabad High Court,” observed a five-Judge Constitution Bench comprising Mr Justice S. Rajendra Babu, Mr Justice S.S.M. Quadri, Mr Justice M.B. Shah, Mr Justice N Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice Doraiswamy Raju.

Maintenance of status quo was necessary, the Bench observed, “not only to maintain communal harmony but also to fulfil other objectives of the Act.”

“The two acquired lands are intrinsically connected with one another and cannot be separated at this stage of proceedings for different treatment during the interregnum,” the Bench observed.

Under the Acquisition of Certain Areas at Ayodhya Act, 1993, the Centre had acquired both the 2.77 acres of disputed land and 67 acres of undisputed land. It was envisaged under the Act that after the decision on the ownership of the disputed land, the undisputed land could be utilised for access to the disputed area and for proper development of the surroundings.

Rejecting the Union Government’s plea, the court said, “If land is transferred to any other body or trust as provided under Section 6 of the Act at this stage, further complications may arise.”

“Therefore, status quo will have to be maintained until suits are finally disposed of,” the Bench said, adding that status quo had been maintained from 1992 onwards.

The court said it was well known that preservation of property in its original condition was absolutely necessary to give appropriate relief to the parties on the termination of the proceedings before the courts and “therefore, we do not think that this is one of those cases in which it becomes necessary to disturb that state”.

The high court at present is hearing rival suits claiming ownership over the 2.77 acres of disputed land, where the Babri masjid stood before its demolition on December 6, 1992.

The high court had recently asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the disputed site to find whether a temple pre-existed the mosque.

In a related development, a two-member Bench of the Supreme Court today dismissed the petition against an Allahabad High Court order directing the ASI to undertake excavation near the disputed site at Ayodhya to determine if a temple or a mosque ever existed there.

A Bench of Mr Justices S. Rajendra Babu and G.P. Mathur came down heavily on the petitioner for not removing the defect pointed out by the Registry of the court earlier.