Sept. 23: If, on September 28, the Supreme Court comes to the conclusion that there are some “real chances and hope” of a negotiated settlement, it is almost certain to extend the stay on the verdict irrespective of the impending retirement of Justice D.V. Sharma of the Allahabad high court.
To overcome the problem of his retirement, Justice Gokhale gave enough indication to the Centre that it has the power to deal with such a situation. The inference being drawn by the counsel for the litigating parties was that the Centre could “reappoint” Justice Sharma on an ad hoc basis till the verdict is finally delivered.
If this course is not adopted, then there is a real chance of the verdict being deferred “indefinitely” as the Supreme Court was informed that it took the high court bench 90 days to complete the arguments on the vexed issue.
Any new judge included in the bench might “insist” on hearing the arguments all over again, that is the real apprehension of the litigating parties and the SC is aware of this problem.
There is even a chance that the Chief Justice of India might recommend the Centre that it give an ad hoc appointment to the retiring judge in these “exceptional circumstances” by using his discretionary powers under the Constitution, if the court is “convinced” that a negotiated settlement is possible.
Since all these possibilities involve a series of legal proceedings, it seems clear that the deferment will go well beyond the Commonwealth Games, which is the primary focus of the Centre as it would not like the judgment on a “religiously sensitive” issue like Ayodhya to come in the middle of the Games preparations.