New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to refer to a five-judge Constitution bench the issue of reconsideration of the observations in its 1994 judgment that a mosque was not integral to Islam, which had arisen during the hearing of Ayodhya land dispute.
The RSS welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on Ayodhya Thursday and expressed confidence that a just verdict on the case will be reached at the earliest.
"Today, the Supreme Court has decided to hold hearing on the Shri Rama Janmabhumi case from 29th October by a three member bench. We welcome this decision and are confident that a just verdict will be reached over the case at the earliest," the Sangh said in a statement.
The Supreme Court has declined to refer to a five-judge Constitution bench the issue of reconsideration of the observations in its 1994 judgement that a mosque was not integral to Islam which had arisen during the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute.
In a majority verdict of 2:1, an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the civil suit has to be decided on the basis of evidence, adding that the previous verdict has no relevance on this issue.
The apex court said now the civil suit on land dispute will be heard by a newly constituted three-judge bench on October 29 as Justice Misra will retire on October 2 as the CJI.
Reacting to the verdict, RSS leader Indresh Kumar said he is confident the judiciary will decide the Ayodhya issue in a speedy manner and alleged that the Congress was against its swift resolution as it wanted to keep "problems alive".
"Like in the case of triple talaq in which India and the world is congratulating the court and the judges for liberating 8.5 crore Muslim women from the clutches of injustice, they will solve this problem and create history in 2018 like they did with triple talaq in 2017," Kumar told Times Now news channel.
He added that he was confident that people's faith in the judicial system will be strengthened.
Asked about Congress leader Kapil Sibal earlier seeking delaying of the verdict till after polls, he said the party wants the "problems to stay alive".
"Congress is working as a 'Pakistan agent'. There have been so many killings, so many atrocities on our soldiers, but Rahul (Gandhi), Sibal, Congress did not condemn Pakistan, did not demand strict action against Pakistan," he claimed.
The Congress should leave the "wrong path" and adopt the path of democracy and patriotism, he said.
The issue of whether mosque is integral to Islam had cropped up when a three-judge bench headed by CJI Misra was hearing a batch of appeals filed against the Allahabad High Court's 2010 verdict by which the disputed land on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid area was divided into three parts.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Thursday said he would move the Supreme Court on Friday for an early listing of the Ram Janmabhoomi issue, adding that his fundamental right to pray overrides the Sunni Waqf Board’s “inferior” right to property.
“It is my fundamental right to pray,” Swamy said, adding that the “Sunni Waqf Board can try whatever it wants”, referring to a review petition.
Refusing to consider the Supreme Court ruling a “setback”, senior advocate and AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani said, "The judgment of 1994 has perhaps been cleared." He also refused to reply to Swamy's statement on the ruling.
Rajiv Dhawan, the petitioner's counsel in the Ayodhya title suit case, said: “The majority judgment will please the majority, while the minority judgment will please minority. The very problem we started off with hasn't been resolved. (It’s) Not about arithmetic, but about convincing everybody that the Supreme Court should've spoken in one voice.”
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi too said the Ayodhya matter should have been referred to a Constitutional bench. Owaisi said the Masjid was an essential feature of Islam and the judiciary could not decide what was essential to the religion.
However, Vishwa Hindu Parishad working president Alok Kumar said he was “satisfied that this impediment has been defeated” and the way was “now clear for the hearing of Ram Janmabhoomi appeals”.
