In Ayodhya case, a question & railing

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked whether the close proximity of Ram Chabutra to the iron railings, which came up in 1858 to segregate worship areas for Hindus and Muslims in the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid structure, indicated Hindus' religious belief that the mosque's central dome was Ram Janmasthan?

Justice D Y Chandrachud, part of the constitution bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S A Bobde, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer, asked senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan whether proximity of Ram Chabutra to the iron railings indicated that before its installation in 1858, Hindus went inside the inner courtyard of the mosque to worship?

Appearing for Sunni Waqf Board, senior advocate Dhavan reacted sharply and said, "It is conjecture on the judge's part that Hindus went inside the central dome to pray even though the evidence is categorical that the Hindus prayed at Ram Chabutra in the outer courtyard. There is no evidence to support the judge’s conjecture. Where did you get any witness account that Hindus went inside the central dome to pray? It will amount to adding to the evidence on record."

Justice Bhushan clarified, “We will decide the case on the basis of evidence on record and there is no question of adding anything to the existing evidence. However, the question arose as there was close proximity between the railings and Ram Chabutra and the judge wanted to know whether it was suggestive of any inference.”

Justice Chandrachud said, "The Chabutra co-existed with the iron railings. Why did the Chabutra become a focal point of worship when it is so close to the railings, which became an exclusionary boundary within the mosque."

Dhavan said, "It is mere conjecture. There is no contemporary evidence why Hindus went near the railings for worship. They could have gone near the railings out of curiosity, as people do near the cage of a lion in a zoo. Or, they could have gone there to destroy the place. We must not forget that in 1855, there was a serious fight between Hindus and Muslims, forcing the British to step in and put a railing to divide worship areas. Hindus had a right to worship in the outer courtyard while Muslims had title over the mosque and offered namaz in the inner courtyard. Why did Chabutra came up near the railings, let us not indulge in conjecture without any evidence."

After an aggressive reply to Justice Chandrachud, Dhavan cooled off and said, "I am sorry, I was a little aggressive. When one is a little tired, he becomes aggressive." The bench told Dhavan, on his feet for the last nine hearing days, that it could wind up the day's arguments if he was tired. But Dhavan refused to call it a day and continued with his arguments.