New Delhi:
The petition asking the Supreme Court to defer the verdict in the Ayodhya case was filed by retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chand Tripathi, who believes a last chance should be provided for an out-of-court settlement.
A main party in the case- the Nirmohi Akhara - also wants the court to defer the verdict by three months to allow for reconciliation.
Mukul Rohtagi who is representing Tripathi argued that the Centre "has acted merely as it is a receiver of the property"- a proactive stand has to be taken by the Centre, he said. Last week, for the first time in the 60-year-old case, the union government was made a party to the case and its views will be presented in court by the Attorney General.
One of the many complex dimensions to the Ayodha case is that Justice DV Sharma, one of the three judges who has heard the case in Lucknow, is retiring at the end of this month. Both Rohatgi and the Nirmohi Akhara said in court today that Sharma must be given an extension by the government. If Sharma retires before the verdict is delivered, the hearings may have to start afresh.
Rohatgi argued that the Supreme Court "must experiment to come up with an innovative solution."