CPI-M dubs SC direction on Babri Masjid matter as 'superfluous and unwise'

The Supreme Court had earlier suggested an out of court settlement for the long pending Ramjanmabhoomi issue.

New Delhi, March 24: Chief Justice JS Khehar's suggestion that all parties in the Ayodhya dispute should settle the matter through talks 'is superfluous and unwise', the CPI-M said on Friday.

The Supreme Court was to hear the appeals against the Allahabad High Court ruling on the Ayodhya matter.

"Instead of doing so, the Chief Justice has asked the parties to go for an out of court settlement," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said in a statement.

"There is a long history of negotiations and talks in the matter. All these have proved infructuous. The situation changed after the demolition of the Babri Masjid and there was no scope for further talks as one side had unilaterally taken steps to demolish the mosque," it added.

"For the higher judiciary to now suggest talks is to ignore how the law was broken and the Constitution trampled upon. It is also objectionable that the Chief Justice has asked Subramaniam Swamy to consult the concerned parties whether they can hold talks," the CPI-M said.

The statement said that Swamy is not a petitioner in the case.

"Further, he has been a known advocate for removing the mosque and building a temple at the spot," it said.

"The judicial process is concerned with who has the title to the land where the Babri Masjid stood. The Supreme Court must adjudicate on this matter before it and discharge its judicial responsibility," it added.

IANS