NEW DELHI - India's top court has cleared the path for a Hindu temple to be constructed at a disputed site in Ayodhya city by awarding the custody of the land to a government-appointed trust.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court passed a unanimous order on Saturday (Nov 9), seeking to end a dispute that has bedevilled Hindu-Muslim ties for centuries, but also potentially further deepening religious polarisation in the country.
The trust comprising Hindu representatives will be set up in the next three months and will manage the construction of the temple at the site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh state. The court has also ordered that five acres of land be given to Muslims at an alternative site.
The legal conflict over the ownership of the site dates back as far as 1885 but the dispute goes even farther. A 16th century mosque on the site was destroyed by a Hindu mob on Dec 6, 1992, sparking riots that left more than 2,000 dead. The Supreme Court yesterday termed the act a "violation of law". People accused of having participated in and incited the violence, including some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, are still on trial, nearly 27 years on.
The top court's judgement follows as many as 14 appeals against a September 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court that had awarded two-thirds of the disputed land to two Hindu parties and the remaining third to a Muslim group.
Mr Zafaryab Jilani, the lawyer for the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, one of the Muslim parties to the dispute, said that they will respect the verdict even if it is "not satisfactory". "Whatever legal recourse is possible, that we will adopt," he said, asking all parties to avoid staging protests.
Ahead of the verdict, security had been reinforced across the country, along with prohibitory orders preventing the gathering of more than four persons in Ayodhya and in other cities.
More than 500 preventive arrests were made in Uttar Pradesh state. Schools in the state will remain shut on Monday. Advisories were also issued asking people not to fan communal tension on social media.
Leaders from across different major political parties have welcomed the verdict and appealed for peace.
Tweeting on Saturday afternoon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the verdict had "amicably" resolved the dispute and it should not be seen as the victory or loss of any one side.
"The calm and peace maintained by 130 crore (1.3 billion) Indians in the run-up to today's verdict manifests India's inherent commitment to peaceful coexistence. May this very spirit of unity and togetherness power the development trajectory of our nation. May every Indian be empowered," he added.
The construction of a temple at the disputed site is a promise that has repeatedly figured in the ruling BJP's election manifestos, including for the 2019 general elections.
Main opposition Congress party has said it respects the verdict. "We appeal to all the parties concerned and to all communities to abide by the secular values and spirit of fraternity enshrined in our Constitution and to maintain peace and harmony," it added in a statement.
But the judgement has its share of critics. Mr Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political commentator and author of a book on the dispute, said the decision will give rise to "a second wave of Hindu triumphalism"
"We are certainly going to go through several tense periods in the coming months," he told The Straits Times.
"The court accepts almost all the arguments of the Muslim side but when it comes to pronouncing a verdict, they end up doing what has been the political objective of right-wing Hindu groups for the last 30 years, which was to destroy Babri mosque and build a temple on it," he added.
"The demolition happened 27 years ago and now it is formality for the site to be handed over to Hindu groups. We do not know what dystopian future we are heading into."
