The Centre on Tuesday took a bold stand in the Supreme Court regarding its responsibility to implement the verdict in the sensitive Ayodhya title suit allaying apprehensions that the UPA government was under “stress” and wanted the deferment to continue for sometime.
As Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati stood up to make submission on behalf of the government all eyes turned to him in the jampacked court room as everybody was eager to know what position the government would take on the vexed issue. But he surprised all by making a clear statement that the government was “bound” to implement the verdict and the judgment could not be deferred merely because of the fear of law and order and neither could it be allowed to hang fire for indefinite period.
“Nobody can say that the issue cannot be settled through negotiations. That is the stand of the Centre from 1984 but the uncertainties, which exist today, should not continue. The issue has to be decided one way or the other,” he said.
“We are backed by the Supreme Court directive (in 1994 constitution bench verdict) that the receiver will hand over the land to the party in whose favour the verdict will go… It is not that we are meekly sitting on this (stand),” Mr Vahanvati said, explaining that in 1994 the Solicitor General of India had given a commitment before the Constitution bench.
“The Solicitor General (then) had said the government will make efforts for negotiated settlement and if it does not succeed than enforce the verdict of the court,” the AG told the bench, headed by CJI S.H. Kapadia, explaining further that the constitution bench had then asked the government to make its stand clear on the implementation of the court verdict.
“This was a proactive stand and based on it the (1994) mandate of the Supreme Court is for implementation of the final decision in the suit. This is what we have to do. If there is any possibility of settlement, we welcome it, we don’t want any uncertainty to continue,”
the government’s top law officer in his unequivocal stand on the vexed issue said.