Ayodhya verdict on Sep 30 (Second Lead)

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Tuesday paved the way for the Allahabad High Court to give its verdict on the Ayodhya dispute, dismissing a petition that sought its postponement.

The high court has decided to announce the verdict Sep 30 at 3.30 p.m.

Former bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripathi had filed the petition for deferring the high court verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi title suit in Ayodhya till the end of the Commonwealth Games.

An apex court bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan passed the brief order when the court reassembled after lunch break Tuesday.

Speaking for the bench, Chief Justice Kapadia said: “Having heard the arguments in detail, we are of the view that the petition deserves to be dismissed.”

With the dismissal of Tripathi’s petition, the decision on when to pronounce the verdict now rests with the high court.

In its pre-lunch sitting, the apex court heard the arguments from both the sides.

Attorney General G. Vahanvati told the court: “If there is any possibility of the settlement (out of court), we will welcome it but at the same time we don’t want any uncertainty to continue.”

“For the sake of maintaining law and order, we cannot keep security forces in sustained animation,” he added.

The apex court last week ordered an interim stay on the pronouncement of the title suit verdict by the high court, acting on a petition by Tripathi.

Tripathi had also sought the court’s direction to the parties to explore the possibility of an out-of-court amicable settlement.