NEW DELHI — Former Chief Justice of India J S Khehar, who had offered to personally “mediate” the Ayodhya dispute in 2017, was among several former judges who were present on Monday in Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony.
Apart from Justice Khehar, three other former CJIs – Justices V N Khare, N V Ramana and U U Lalit attended the ceremony, The Indian Express reported.
It is learnt that over a dozen former judges of the Supreme Court were also present for the consecration ceremony. The list included Justice Arun Mishra, chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission; Justice Ashok Bhushan, Chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal among others.
Justice Adarsh Goel, a former judge of the Supreme Court, who incidentally was Uttar Pradesh government’s lawyer in 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished, also attended the event. It is learnt that Justices V Ramasubramanium, Anil Dave, Vineet Saran and Gyan Sudha Mishra were also present.
Justice Sudhir Agarwal, former Allahabad High Court judge, who was part of the 2010 High Court ruling in the Ayodhya dispute also attended the temple inauguration.
In a 2:1 ruling, the High Court had called for a three-way partition of the disputed 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya between the Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Mandir. While Justice SU Khan and DV Sharma formed the majority, just Agarwal had ruled in favour of the Hindu side.
Former Attorney General of India and trustee of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, who are part of the team that lead the arguments in the Supreme Court for the Hindu side, were among those who attended the ceremony. (IE)
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Photo: Former CJI U U Lalit at the ceremony on Monday. (PTI)
