Modi Govt Request SC To allow It Hand Over Undisputed Ayodhya Land To Trust

New Delhi: The government has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to hand over a portion of land near the disputed temple-mosque site to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas or the trust overseeing the Ram temple plan.

The Supreme Court had ordered status quo on the entire land where the 16th century Babri mosque stood before it was razed in 1992 by Hindu activists who believed it was built on the ruins of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram.

The government wants the status quo removed on the non-disputed land, or the excess acquired land in the temple town in Uttar Pradesh, a request that is being seen as extremely significant months before the national election.

There is a status quo on around 67 acres of land that was acquired by the government over 25 years ago. Of that, 2.7 acres is the disputed land.

The government has filed the petition on a day the Supreme Court was to hear the Ayodhya title suit. The hearing was cancelled because one of the judges, Justice SA Bobde, was not available due to medical reasons.

On Monday, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that the temple-mosque case must be heard in court without delay.

"The Ayodhya case has been pending for the last 70 years. The Allahabad High Court order was in favour of the temple (in 2010), but then it is on hold in the Supreme Court now. This matter should be cleared soon," news agency IANS quoted him as saying.

"We all respect the Supreme Court, we have our faith in the judiciary," he said, adding the matter should be resolved "without any delay".

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi reconstituted the five-judge Constitution bench to hear the Ayodhya case after Justice UU Lalit recused himself saying he had been a lawyer in a related case. Justice Abdul Nazeer and Justice Ashok Bhushan were added last week.

There have been demands from right-wing groups to bring an ordinance to construct the temple in Ayodhya. Several of the BJP members and allies are among those making the demand.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, said that the government would wait for the judicial process to get over.

"Let the judicial process be over. After the judicial process is over, whatever will be our responsibility as the government, we are ready to make all efforts," he said in an interview to news agency ANI earlier this month.