Anonymous judge who differed on Ram’s birthplace

Curiously, the Ayodhya verdict does not specify the name of the judge(s) who authored the judgment. The practice is to specify the name of the judge who has authored the judgment on behalf of a bench.

However, this time the name may have been omitted owing to the sensitivity of the case.

More important, the unanimous judgment does not mention the name of the judge who differed on the issue of the exact birthplace of Lord Ram.

The judgment, at the very end of the order, duly acknowledges, “One of us, while being in agreement with the above reasons and directions, has recorded separate reasons on: ― Whether the disputed structure is the birthplace of Lord Ram according to the faith and belief of the Hindu devotees.

The reasons of the learned judge are set out in an addendum.'

So, while the bench concluded that the Babri Masjid was neither constructed upon a temple nor an Islamic structure, one of the five judges dissented on this aspect.

The judge, whose name has not been mentioned in the 116page ‘addendum’ has relied upon various gazettes and religious scriptures to conclude that at Babar constructed the Babri Masjid in 1528 at the Janmasthan of Ram.

The judge has noted that the three-dome structured Babri Masjid was divided into two by the Britishers, allowing Hindus to offer prayers in the outer courtyard – the Ram Chabutra -- and the Muslims in the inner tomb area. “Faith and belief of the Hindus as depicted by the evidence on record clearly establish that at the birth place of Ram, the Mosque was constructed and the three-dome structure is the birth place of Ram.

The worship on the Ram Chabutra in the outer courtyard was symbolic of worship of Lord Ram who was believed to be born on the premises,” the judge has concluded.

“Thus, the faith and belief of Hindus since prior to construction of the Mosque and subsequent thereto has always been that Janmaasthan of Lord Ram is the place where Babri Mosque has been constructed which faith and belief is proved by documentary and oral evidence,” the ‘anonymous’ judge ruled.