The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred its hearing on a special leave petition seeking a direction to the Allahabad High Court to postpone its verdict in the Ayodhya title suit on September 24.
A Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and A.K. Patnaik told senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi and counsel Sunil Kumar Jain that it did not have the determination to take up the matter.
When Mr. Rohatgi explained the urgency, Justice Kabir said: “Being an appeal against an order in a civil suit, this Bench does not have the determination to take it up. It will be posted before an appropriate Bench.”
However, indications are that the SLP is unlikely to be heard on Thursday. If it is not heard, then the SLP will become infructuous.
In his SLP, Ramesh Chandra Tripathi said that if the judgment was pronounced it might lead to communal riots in Uttar Pradesh as well as other parts of the country. “It is evident from the present-day situation as we see every day the entire Kashmir Valley is in continuous turmoil and witnessing deaths.”
He pleaded for postponement of the verdict keeping in mind the larger public interest and the security and safety of every individual. He apprehended that in the context of increasing communal and religious differences, certain vested interests might create rift among people on the lines of caste, creed and religion.
