Build a Temple at Babri Masjid’s place, Indian Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Court ordered that Muslims be allotted an alternate land as a replacement for the destroyed Babri Mosque

The Supreme Court of India, while deciding the Babri Masjid case, handed over the land of the mosque to the Hindus and ordered the central government to build a temple.

A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gangui of the Indian Supreme Court has ruled in the Babri Masjid case.

The Indian Supreme Court announced that Ram Janmabhoomi Nayas is the owner of the disputed land.

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi read out the verdict. The top court ruled that the disputed Babri Mosque land be given to the Hindus and ordered that Muslims be allotted an alternate land as a replacement for the destroyed Babri Mosque.

The bench ordered that the government formulate a scheme within three months under the Ayodhya Act 1993 to set up a trust. Till the trust is formed the ownership of the site will rest with the Centre, the bench said.

On Dec. 6, 1992, Hindu attackers hit the wall of the 16th century Babri Masjid with iron rods

The supreme court noted that the demolition of Babri Mosque in 1992 was a violation of law. It also ruled that Muslims will be awarded five acre of alternative land in a suitable prominent place.

Reading out its judgment, the Indian top court also said that Allahabad High Court was wrong in dividing the disputed site into three parts. The top court said that it is clearly established that while Muslims offered prayers inside the inner courtyard, the same was done by Hindus in the outer court yard.

Thousands of paramilitary force members and police have been deployed in the northern town of Ayodhya, where Babri Masjid was razed in 1992 by hardline Hindus who believe the site is the birthplace of Lord Ram.

The destruction of the mosque triggered religious riots in which about 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed across the country and led to a series of court battles with various groups staking claim to the site.

The verdict will decide the ownership of a plot of land of just 2.77 acres (1.1 hectares) that has been heavily protected since the 1992 clashes.