Ayodhya case: Four options for the verdict

New Delhi: Even the naïve and the eternal optimist did not think that Allahabad High Court’s September 30, 2010 verdict on the Ayodhya Title suit marked the beginning of a closure of a dispute that has literally been around for centuries.

None of the litigants was happy about the prospect of having to share the land with the others. The Allahabad High Court passed its orders to maintain cautious neutrality though the decision to award the key areas to the Hindu Mahasabha and the Vaishnavite Nirmohi Akhara were quickly read as a victory by the Hindutva forces.

However, the HC also directed that status quo was to be maintained for at least three months. The HC was aware that the aggrieved parties would knock on the apex court’s door and it facilitated it knowingly.

The basic premise of the Title suit was one based on mutual exclusion. All the litigants wanted one winner. Today’s Supreme Court stay order on the HC verdict has also raised the same point.

"This is strange and surprising. Nobody has prayed for partition of the disputed land," the two-judge bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice RS Lodha observed while staying the verdict announced by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. The court also directed that no religious activity should be performed on 67 acre area adjacent to the disputed site.

Looking at the observations of Supreme Court, four outcomes are possible.

First, the Supreme Court may award use of the land to any one of the plaintiffs. Secondly, the Supreme Court studies the HC judgment and concurs. But these two outcomes are more of statistical probabilities.

The apex court may ask all parties, the Centre and the state government to maintain an indefinite status quo.

It is also possible that the highest court of the country, upholding the spirit of a secular, inclusive and progressive nation, will de-link the disputed land from the politico-religious entities fighting for it. It may order such use of the land which can be socially beneficial for people from different faiths and communities. People of Ayodhya will no doubt appreciate a new school or a hospital.