New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said the faith of Hindus in the Ram Janmabhoomi had been a constant and it would be hard to rebut their belief.
A 5-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was questioning senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for the Muslim parties, on whether the divinity and the “exact form” of an idol or a deity were necessary to hold that they have “juristic personality”.
“Even Muslim witnesses (during the trial) have said that Ayodhya to Hindus is as sacred as the Mecca is for them. It will be difficult to rebut the belief of the Hindus,” said the bench which also comprised Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer.
Mr. Dhavan said that belief alone could not be the sole foundation for claiming title and according juristic status to the janmasthan (birthplace).
On the 29th day of the hearing in the politically sensitive case, he, however, strongly pitched for granting respect to Lord Ram and Allah in a diverse country like India.
“If Lord Ram and Allah are not respected, then this great nation will split apart,” Mr. Dhavan submitted.
He objected to the move to make the birthplace a party to the lawsuit filed on behalf of the deity Ram Lalla Virajman for claiming juristic status for the sacred land. Mr. Dhavan said the Janmabhoomi had been made a party in the appeals to skip the legal impediments of limitation and adverse possession. “They just say Lord Ram was born here. None of the contours of the area are mentioned anywhere in the plaint. The suit is thus merely a vehicle to destroy and build a temple. They have argued that all existing structures be demolished at Ram Janmabhoomi and a new temple be constructed,” he said.
