In his special leave petition in the Supreme Court, Ramesh Chandra Tripathi expressed his grievance over the Allahabad High Court order of September 17 refusing to defer the judgment on the Ayodhya title suits and to explore an opportunity for an amicable settlement through negotiation between the parties to the dispute.
His senior counsel, Mukul Rohatgi pleaded: “Let there be an attempt for an amicable solution. We have all seen the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.”
Failed attempts
On the other hand, senior counsel Ravi Shankar Prasad, appearing for Dharamdas, and Anoop G. Choudhury for the Sunni Central Board of Wakfs (who are plaintiffs before the High Court) argued that all attempts at a negotiated settlement had failed and the High Court in its order had recorded a finding to this effect.
It was submitted that Mr. Tripathi, a defendant in one of the suits, was not serious about negotiations as he had not appeared even once during the final arguments in the High Court when opportunity was given and that the SLP should be dismissed.
