The five judges of the Supreme Court who delivered the verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute case in 2019 have been invited for the Ram temple Pran Pratishta ceremony on January 22.
It was on November 9, 2019 when the Bench of five judges, headed by then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, former CJI S.A. Bobde, present CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, Justices (retired) Ashok Bhushan and S. Abdul Nazeer had delivered the verdict in which the dispute site was handed over to the Hindus, despite the court agreeing with all arguments of Muslims claiming right over then disputed land.
The Bench also maintained that Muslims were deprived of their 450-year-old mosque and ordered the government to allot a “prominent and suitable” five-acre plot for them to build a mosque in Ayodhya.
To mention, Justice Gogoi is currently a Rajya Sabha member, nominated by the President.
Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, earlier this week announced to confer ‘Assam Baibhav’ — the highest civilian award — on Justice Gogoi.
“Being the first judge from the northeast to occupy the august office of the Chief Justice of India, this award recognises his exceptional efforts to expand the delivery of justice and enrich our jurisprudence,” Mr. Sarma said.
Justice Bobde succeeded Justice Gogoi as the 47th Chief Justice of India, while Justice Bhushan retired from the Supreme Court in July 2021.
Justice Nazeer is serving as Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
The Ram temple trust has also invited over 50 jurists, former chief justices, judges and top lawyers. They include Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and former Attorney General K.K. Venugopal. Harishankar Jain, who was one of the advocates in the Ayodhya case and is also a counsel in cases pertaining to the Gyanvapi mosque dispute in Varanasi and Krishna Janambhoomi-Shahi Idgah mosque dispute, and his son Vishnu Jain were also invited. Advocate Ujjwal Nikam was among the invitees.
Meanwhile, the first photo of the idol of Lord Ram was revealed on Friday which was made of black stone. Several BJP leaders shared the glimpse on social media hailing the temple inauguration and welcoming the God.
Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje wrote that the dream of decades had now become a reality.
Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, also shared the picture of the deity, sculpted by Mysuru-based artist Arun Yogiraj.
Mixed signals
Also, the government appeared to be sending out mixed signals on just how “official” the Ram Temple inauguration would be. All Central government employees have been given half a day’s leave “at their request” so that they could view the event being streamed live on online platforms. On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India issued two notifications, first announcing half-day trading from 2.30-5 p.m., and subsequently, after the Maharashtra government declared a full day public holiday, said “there will be no transaction and settlements in government securities, foreign exchange, money, markets and rupee interest rate derivatives on January 22”.
During its weekly briefing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was in no way involved in the preparations, invitations and broadcasting arrangements for the temple event.
“The programme in Ayodhya is being hosted by the [Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas] Trust there, so they would have more information about who is coming from abroad or not, and it is their official domain to decide whom to invite,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
When asked about reports that Indian embassies worldwide would organise the screening of the event, the spokesperson said these were not being organised by the embassies, but by representatives of the temple trust.
“Regarding the question of showcasing [the event] abroad, I would like to say... the Trust is organising the programme,” Mr. Jaiswal added. While several Indian diplomats contacted denied receiving any orders on holding screenings, at least one embassy, in Beijing, sent messages inviting members of the Indian community to “attend the live telecast of Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha at Ayodhya” on January 22.
The link for the registration for the event to the embassy website was not functional, when checked.
The temple trust claimed to have invited representatives from 50 countries, including those from Muslim nations, for the ceremony. Office-bearers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad told The Hindu that they were planning celebrations in all the countries which share similar time zone, as of India, on January 22, in their personal capacity and in partnership with Hindus living abroad.
