Lucknow/New Delhi, Sept. 17: The Allahabad high court on Friday rejected a petition for the deferment of the Ayodhya title suits verdict, saying there was no merit in the application. The High Court also imposed a fine of `10 lakh on the petitioner, Mr Ramesh Chandra Tripathi. The plea had sought an amicable out-of-court settlement. The judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute will finally be delivered on September 24.
As Uttar Pradesh has been put on high alert, the Centre is rushing 40 companies of Central forces to the state. The state had, however, demanded over 600 companies of Central forces.
The big brother of the Sangh Parivar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, felt the court has done the “right thing” by rejecting the application since it was an “unnecessary attempt to delay the verdict". The Congress, on the other hand, said whatever the verdict be, the party will abide by it. “From the beginning, the Congress has held that the issue should be settled amicably through dialogue. Now, when the issue is in court, the party will abide by the court verdict,” the AICC general secretary, Mr Janardan Dwivedi, said. The government has made a strong appeal for communal harmony and peace ahead of the judgment.
But the BJP, which had brought the Ayodhya issue to the centrestage of national politics two decades ago, remained tight-lipped.