Shawdesh Desk:

The Supreme Court of India on Saturday announced its verdict in a decades-old land title dispute between Muslims and Hindus over plans to build a Hindu temple on a site where Hindu hard-liners demolished a 16th century mosque in 1992, sparking deadly religious riots.

In a unanimous judgment, the Bench has ordered that a temple must be constructed at the disputed site and the Muslims must be compensated with five acres of land at a prominent place in Ayodhya, reported The Hindu

The court also ordered the Central government to formulate a scheme within three months to implement this order.

The demolition of Babri Mosque in 1992 was a violation of law, the bench said, and ordered an alternate land for Muslims in a suitable, prominent place. It will be acquired by the government, according to the report.

The five-judge Constitution Bench of Supreme Court was delivering the verdict on appeal against Allahabad High Court’s verdict of splitting the disputed Ayodhya land among Hindus and Muslims.

The bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi delivered its judgment in the cross-appeals filed by the Hindu and Muslim sides challenging the three-way partition of the disputed 2.77 acres of Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land among Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara and the Sunni Waqf Board in September 2010.

“There is adequate material in ASI report to conclude the following: Babri Masjid not constructed on vacant land. There was a structure underlying the disputed structure. The underlying structure was not an Islamic structure,” said Supreme Court of India.

“But the ASI report does not say if the structure was demolished for the mosque. It has left unanswered this critical point: whether temple was demolished for mosque.”

“This court must accept faith and accept belief of worshippers,” India’s Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s was quoted as saying. “Court should preserve balance.”

“The mosque was not abandoned by the Muslims.”