NEW DELHI: Contesting the claims of Hindu parties for ownership of the 2.77 acre disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land in Ayodhya, Muslim parties on Monday told the Supreme Court that the case could not be decided on the basis of Hindus' belief and faith that Lord Ram was born at the disputed site by glossing over recorded historical facts since 1934 about a 'living' mosque.

For the Muslim parties, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan said the SC's decision in this case would have grave impact on the future of India, its secularism and the secular character of the Constitution.

"What is to be determined and how in this case? How will the court determine the exact location of Lord Ram's birthplace?" he asked. Opening the arguments for Muslim parties on the 17th day of hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer, the senior advocate faulted an observation from Justice Chandrachud that the court has to do a balancing act while hearing this case.

Asserting that Muslims were rightful owners of the disputed site, Dhavan said, "The entire secular structure of this country will crumble if we do a balancing act in this case, as was said by Justice Chandrachud. There are no Hindu motifs in Babri Masjid. Just because a peacock or a lotus picture was found on some slab, does it mean it was a Hindu structure?

"In 1934, Hindus damaged the masjid. In 1949, they trespassed into the masjid and placed idols inside it. In 1992, the Hindus demolished it. Where do these facts stand for consideration before the Supreme Court? Do we lose sight of contemporary historical facts and travel into faith and belief to decide this case? And Hindus say their rights are to be protected. Is it a Hindu Constitution that their rights would be protected despite all these historical facts stacked against their claim?"

When the bench said there was no need to go into Hindu Constitution as it was a secular Constitution, Dhavan said it was important to discern certain things from the manner in which some Hindu parties had argued their case. "It is important for the future of the country," he added.

He said the mosque was built on vacant land and assailed the ASI report about evidence of a huge Hindu structure underneath the demolished Babri Masjid. "The ASI dug 90 trenches and found some Hindu structure dating back to several periods of history. This means these structures belonged to several periods and which had become ruins. When the mosque was built, it was over barren land. No definite conclusion about pre-existence of Hindu structure at the site can be derived from the ASI report," he added.



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