NEW DELHI: A battery of top lawyers are advocating idol Ram Lalla’s claim over the entire chunk of Ayodhya land that has been under litigation for 70 years.

Former AG K Parasaran, one of the most respected figures among lawyers, commenced arguments on Wednesday for “Bhagwan Sri Ram Virajman”, as he is referred to in appeals before the SC as well as in title suits before the HC. Waiting in the wings are former solicitors general Harish Salve and Ranjit Kumar, former additional solicitors general C S Vaidyanathan and P S Narasimha and senior advocate Shyam Divan. Senior advocate Vaidyananthan is slated to commence arguments after 92-year-old Parasaran.

Ram Lalla who was assigned central one-third portion of the of the disputed Ayodhya land by Allahabad high court , is in the apex court in support for the entire 2.77 acre as part of the decades-old legal battle which has impacted social equations and politics.

Given his stature and advanced age, CJI Ranjan Gogoi , heading the five-judge bench hearing the Ayodhya land dispute case, offered to Parasaran that if he wishes he could argue sitting in his chair, a departure from the court tradition of every counsel or petitioner in person standing before a bench while making submissions.

Being a stickler when it comes to tradition, Parasaran politely refused the CJI’s offer and stood for nearly two hours to make his arguments. The CJI said, “We gave you choice so that we do not carry in the back of our minds that we did not make a person of your standing and age comfortable in the courtroom.”

This court’s show of respect to a seasoned senior lawyer and his polite refusal for the sake of tradition was in stark contrast to the run-in senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, while appearing for Muslim parties, had with CJI over latter’s innocuous suggestion to counsel Sushil Jain not to read documents which were not important for Nirmohi Akhara ’s claim.



In Video: Battery of top lawyers line up for Ram Lalla in Ayodhya case