The first case filed in January 1885 by Mahant Raghubir Das seeking permission to construct a temple on the chabutara outside the Babri Masjid was dismissed. The mandir-masjid issue then remained in suspended animation until the night of December 22, 1949, when trespassers broke into the Babri Masjid and installed an idol of Ram. Subsequently, the city magistrate attached the premises.
In the next 12 years, four title suits followed—all still pending before the courts. These include the one filed in December 1950 by Mahant Ramchandra Das Paramhans who is now the chairman of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and another by the Sunni Central Boards of Waqfs, UP, in December 1961. All the four suits were clubbed together and brought before the Allahabad High Court which began recording oral evidence in July 1996.
The case has always moved at a snail's pace. Out of the 100 witnesses, only 23 have testified till now. On an average, the examination of a witness takes a fortnight. Says former Delhi High Court chief justice Rajinder Sachar: "It is really impossible to find whether Ram was born on that exact piece of land. The matter will go on and on for years."
The Union government on March 5 filed a petition before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court to expedite the case by holding daily hearings. Further, it suggested that the court appoint a commissioner or a judge to record the statements of the witnesses. But all this does not necessarily mean a speedy settlement of the issue. The case, fear legal experts, could be a long-drawn one.
