Counsel says belief alone not enough for claiming title

The Supreme Court on Monday said the faith of Hindus in the Ram Janmabhoomi had been a constant and it would be hard to rebut their belief.

A Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi pointed out during the day-long hearing that even Muslim witnesses had testified in the lower court that the disputed land was as sacred to Hindus as Mecca was for Muslims.

The discussion touched on the aspect whether a physical manifestation of the deity was necessary to recognise it as a juristic personality.

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The court was delving into submissions made by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, for the Sunni Waqf Board, that a physical entity was necessary and an empty place could hardly form a juristic person.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was questioning senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for the Muslim parties, on whether the divinity and the “exact form” of an idol or a deity were necessary to hold that they had a “juristic personality”.

Mr. Dhavan said that belief alone could not be the sole foundation for claiming title and according juristic status to the janmasthan (birthplace).

On the 29th day of the hearing in the politically sensitive case, he, however, strongly pitched for granting respect to Lord Ram and Allah in a diverse country like India.

“If Lord Ram and Allah are not respected, then this great nation will split apart,” Mr. Dhavan submitted.

He objected to the move to make the birthplace a party to the lawsuit filed on behalf of the deity Ram Lalla Viarajman for claiming juristic status for the sacred land. Mr. Dhavan said the Janmabhoomi had been made a party in the appeals to skip the legal impediments of limitation and adverse possession. “They just say Lord Ram was born here. None of the contours of the area are mentioned anywhere in the plaint. The suit is thus merely a vehicle to destroy and build a temple. They have argued that all existing structures be demolished at Ram Janmabhoomi and a new temple be constructed,” he said.