Gopal Singh Visharad and Ors v. Zahoor Ahmad and Ors., O.S.Nos. 1/1989, 3/1989, 4/1989, 5/1989: A Summary of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janm Bhoomi Decision

Abstract

On September 30, 2010, the Allahabad High Court in India delivered a decision on a property dispute that had dragged on in courts for 50 years. However, this was no simple property dispute. It was a dispute over a 1500 square yard land that has been claimed by various Hindu and Muslim groups alike as their religious place of worship. Dispute over this piece of land led to one of the most horrific instances of communal violence in post-independence India and has shaped the agenda of a large segment of Indian politics.

The decision is not only momentous; it is equally voluminous, totally a mammoth 8189 pages. This note is a summary of the decision of the Allahabad High Court in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janm Bhoomi case. There is no attempt to critique or analyse the decision here. The only purpose of the summary is to give a brief account of the decision, so as to further informed debate.

Keywords: India, Babri Masjid, Ram Janm Bhoomi, secularism, religion

JEL Classification: K11, K30, K40