The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the laying of a new tarpaulin tent, ropes and other material forming the makeshift Ram lalla temple at Ayodhya after it was told that the existing one was “old and worn out”.
A Bench, headed by Justice TS Thakur, allowed the Faizabad District Collector to replace the old and worn out tarpaulin sheet, jute matting, bamboo, polythene sheet and ropes over the makeshift structure by “new ones of the same size and quality and exactly in the same manner as they were previously placed”.
As the makeshift temple is located on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid disputed site, the Bench, also comprising Justices V Gopala Gowda and R Banumathi, ordered that the exercise must be done under the supervision of the existing two observers, one from each community, who had been visiting the site as per court orders.
This is the second order issued by the court in respect of the Ram lalla temple at Ayodhya in the past one week. Earlier, a separate Bench of Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph had directed the UP Government and Centre to provide all amenities and facilities to pilgrims, after BJP senior leader Subramanian Swamy had complained about inadequate facilities for parking, drinking water, toilets and space for offering worship to the deity, Ram. The matter will be heard next on September 11.
Monday’s order does not carry a deadline. The Bench, while passing the interim order for periodic repair, had in mind that the hearing on the main appeal against the Allahabad High Court’s decision ordering a three-way apportionment of the disputed land had still to be heard.
Since May 9, 2011, there is an order of status quo by the apex court thus allowing worship to continue at the makeshift temple at Ram Janmabhoomi site. Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan appeared for one of the parties in the suit proceeding and supported replacement of old and worn out tarpaulin sheets citing similar orders passed by the apex court in the past. Even the observers’ report made note of the worn out tent, he added.
Dhavan requested the court to allow parties to rely on the digitized records of the case since the original files were “voluminous”. The Bench directed the Court Registry to provide copies of CDs, containing digitized records relating to the case, to all parties. It did not permit the other prayer of Dhavan to inspect the records.
Ruling out the possibility of an out-of-turn hearing on the batch of appeals, the Bench said, “The pleadings should be complete and the appeals must be ripe for hearing.” It urged the parties not to depend on digitized records as it cannot be known whether the judges hearing the case would be comfortable. The court advised the parties to sit with the Registrar and sort out all differences. In any case, this has to happen within six weeks. The Bench even requested the Centre to take instructions on replacing TM Khan, one of the independent observers, whose five-year tenure has expired.
Even as status quo is maintained at the site, the Bench permitted the polythene sheet at the site to be covered with six inches of soil. The High Court in its September 30, 2010 decision had held a three-way split of the property, with portions each to the temple and mosque and an adjacent 67 acre land, which was taken over by the Centre.