The Hindu : SC rejects plea against excavation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003

Front Page

Front Page

SC rejects plea against excavation

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI June 9. The Supreme Court today rejected a petition challenging the March 5 order of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the area of the "disputed site" in Ayodhya without affecting worship to determine whether a temple existed before mosque was built.

A vacation Bench, comprising Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justice Brijesh Kumar, dismissed the plea of Naved Yar Khan seeking permission to file the special leave petition. The Bench, however, said the petitioner could approach the High Court.

The petitioner submitted that the order for excavation would prove to be a bad precedent as now anybody could demand the excavation of any religious site on the pretext that another religious structure existed before the present one.

He said the excavation order violated the 1994 order of the apex court directing the maintenance of the status quo at the disputed site till the High Court decided the issues in the title suits.

On March 31, the Supreme Court dismissed a writ petition filed by Mr. Khan as he failed to cure the defect pointed out by the Registry, viz., only a special leave petition could be filed against a High Court order and not a writ petition. On March 25, he was granted a week's time to cure the defect and file a fresh petition but he did not do so.

Mr. Khan contended that the High Court order had resulted in a situation wherein one community was allowed to continue its worship and the other was made to suffer the damage caused by the Babri Masjid demolition of December 6, 1992, which affected the community's 400 years of religious faith.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

Muslim Law Board rejects Kanchi Acharya's claim

SC rejects plea against excavation

High-level dialogue only after infiltration ends: Advani

`We will be in power under Vajpayee'

Advani, Ashcroft discuss counter-terrorism

Pak. complains of slow pace of peace process

Delhi surprised by Pak. charge

CRPF jawan kills superiors

Launch of Rovers postponed

Absconding judge's bail application rejected

Steve Waugh honoured