Fwd: [bangla-vision] An extra-judicial verdict: Retrospective sanction of 1992 demolition on questionable grounds makes mockery of secularism and rule of law in India

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From: Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha <mohammad_b_haq@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Subject: [bangla-vision] An extra-judicial verdict: Retrospective sanction of 1992 demolition on questionable grounds makes mockery of secularism and rule of law in India
To: bangla vision <bangla-vision@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: banglarnari@yahoogroups.com, notun bangladesh <notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com>

 

Welcome to Kashmir Times   Online Edition | Editorial An extra-judicial verdict Retrospective sanction of 1992 demolition on questionable grounds makes mockery of secularism and rule of law in India THE verdict of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on the Ayodhya dispute, delivered on Thursday, will be remembered more for its extra-judicial impurities than as a citable case of immaculate jurisprudence. Immediate impact of the pronouncement without untoward fallout, amid hyped fears about its grave consequences, is perhaps a more significant development than the judgement itself. By and large every section of public, political and religious opinion responded with commendable restraint which if sustained over the next few weeks could be a really great achievement. However, that is a million dollar question, given the past record and known tendency of the extremist fringe to exploit every possible 'opportunity' of this kind. The content, context and wisdom of the puzzling judicial verdict lend itself to diverse and contradictory interpretations. There has been no dearth of opinions from hailing it as an act of 'judicial courage' to condemning it as a 'panchayat raj decision'. To a layman, both seem almost equally convincing. Indeed, the 10, 000 page judgement written by the three judges of the high court is so full of confusing conclusions that their individual interpretations become stretchable all too easily. For instance, the court was asked to pronounce on the ownership of the plot of land at Ayodhya. Instead of answering the simple question in clear cut terms, as judicial verdict is supposed to do, the judgement in this case is fraught with ominous implications. On the one hand it has ousted the claim of the Sunni Waqf Board but on the other it upheld it by awarding one-third share of the disputed property to the Board. Judicially, this position is irreconcilable, as much as it defies logic. Similarly, the judgement holds that the birth place of Lord Ram is exactly under the central dome of the destroyed 3- dome structure (Babri Masjid) but relies on what is patently questionable inconclusive finding of the Archaeological Survey of India. Yet it is this dubious part of the judgement that tilts the balance of not only the ownership dispute but the entire gamut of its political and ideological dimensions. The judgement looks to be an odd mixture of facts, mythology and principles. Perhaps the saving grace lies in that part of the judgement which by consensus of all the three judges says that status quo will prevail at the disputed site for next three months and that leave to appeal against the verdict is instantly granted to litigants. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement rightly emphasised this point while counselling patience and restraint. There is no doubt that the case will land in the lap of the Supreme Court of India sooner than later. Obviously, the judicial process is yet to be exhausted in the six decade old dispute. All that can be said at this moment is that the last word has not been said in the case, mercifully. The Allahabad high court judgement has created a piquant political situation for the central government. It was the Congress government, of PV Narasimha Rao, in New Delhi when the Babri Masjid was demolished in December 1992, in gross violation of rule of law, civilised behaviour and political propriety. The demolition marked the culmination of politically-motivated communal frenzy. Now when that act has virtually been 'santified' by the Allahabad court verdict there is again a Congress government at the centre. Deeper analysis of the judgement delivered on Thursday brings out a highly disturbing feature of Indian polity. It sanctifies lawlessness propelled by communal frenzy. Nobody can deny that the ideological packaging of LK Advani's Rath Yatra in the early 1990s that culminated in wanton destruction of over 400 year old Babri Masjid was antisecular, anti-constitutional and it mocked at rule of law. The court verdict has virtually justified the 1992 demolition by declaring, on questionable findings, that the birth place of Lord Ram was indeed where the Hindu's believed it to be and that the Babri Masjid had been built over the site of a demolished temple. The BJP whose stalwarts are facing criminal charges in the demolition case had every reason to exude satisfaction beyond their expectation. Given the propensities of the Sangh Parivar, it is only a question of time when they launch a more determined offensive to 'to recover' 33, 000 sites of 'demolished temples' across the country. Ex-post judicial approval of the demolition at Ayodhya in 1992 is a boost to the campaign for 'restoring' temples identified by the Parivar. The politico-ideological fallout of the Allahabad high court judgement is going to pose toughest challenge to the Congress party and its government. The minority community's faith and confidence in the ruling party's will as well as capability to defend secularism and rule of law is now in more serious doubt. One Congress government connived in the demolition of the Babri Masjid and another one failed to prevent the dastardly act from being sanctified with judicial approval. Muslim minority has reason to be more fearful after the verdict, notwithstanding restrained initial impact of the judgement. Triumphalism lies at the root of the Saffron ideology. And Muslims have always been at its receiving end. -- MBHS

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Palash Biswas
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http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/