By IANS,
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Tuesday allowed former central minister Subramanian Swamy to have his say during adjudication of lawsuits related to the Ayodhya dispute.
A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice J.M. Panchal allowed Swamy to make his point, accepting his application for an early resolution of the dispute – whether the site of the demolished Babri mosque in Ayodhya was the birth place of Lord Ram, reverred by Hindus.
The bench, while allowing Swamy’s plea, rejected a renewed appeal for a separate trial of Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani and seven others at Rae Bareli for their alleged role in the demolition of Babri Masjid in Aohdhya on Dec 6, 1992.
The bench dismissed the plea by advocate Wajahat Hussain for a separate trial of Advani and others, saying that a similar appeal by another petitioner, Aslam Bhure, had already been dismissed.
Hussain moved the apex court for its direction to club Advani’s trial with those of other BJP leaders and Hindu activists at Lucknow. The Rae Bareli court has already acquitted Advani and his party colleagues Murli Manohar Joshi, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore and Vishnu Hari Dalmia.
Appearing before the court, Swamy recalled that the Allahabad High Court had in 1996 given an order to facilitate Hindu pilgrims visiting Lord Ram’s makeshift temple, built at the disputed site after the demolition of the Babri mosque.
The apex court, however, had on May 10, 1996, suspended the high court’s order, prohibiting any change or alteration at the disputed site, he added.
Swamy in his application pointed out that while Hindu groups have approached the apex court for its direction to facilitate Hindu pilgrims to the makeshift temple and building of a grand temple, the Muslim groups have come to it for its permission to offer an annual prayer at the site.
Maintaining that the apex court’s 1996 order frustrated the aspirations of both the Hindu and Muslim groups, Swamy said: “The time has come for the apex court to put an end to this era of indecision by taking certain positive and healing steps.”
He said probably owing to the failure by two rival groups of petitioners in vigorously pursuing the matter, the apex court too has not passed any order in favour of one or the other group.
Swamy sought to become a party in the lawsuit, saying he would be able to pursue the matter in the court at a greater speed.
He also contended that during a recent visit to Ayodhya he found the Hindu pilgrims being put to unnecessary security checks. These checks impinge upon their right to worship, he said.