Ram Temple Consecration: 13 Former SC Judges Attend Ceremony in Ayodhya
A statue of Lord Hanuman at the illuminated Ram Mandir premises after its consecration ceremony, in Ayodhya, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Image Courtesy: PTI Photo/Arun Sharma
New Delhi: Monday’s mega consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saw 13 former Supreme Court judges gracing the occasion, says a report by Bar & Bench.
The 13 former judges who attended the grand ceremony are: former Chief Justices of India (CJIs) V N Khare, J S Khehar, N V Ramana and UU Lalit. Among the other judges present were Justices Ashok Bhushan, Adarsh Goel, V Ramasubrahmaniam, Anil Dave, Vineet Saran, Krishna Murari, Gyan Sudha Mishra, Arun Mishra and Mukundakam Sharma, says the report.
Recall that the go-ahead for the construction of the Ram Temple, after years of legal battle, was given by the Supreme Court in November 2019, while terming the razing of the Babri Masjid as an ‘egregious violation of the rule of law”.
The five judges who were part of the bench that gave the final ruling, though invited, could not attend, citing prior official commitments, says the report. Among these judges are former CJIs Ranjan Gogoi, (who has been nominated as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament) and SA Bobde and Abdul Nazeer, who is now Andhra Pradesh Governor.
“Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Attorney General for India R Venkataramani were also not in attendance owing to court commitments,’ said the report, adding that CJI DY Chandrachud, who was also part of the judgement, was holding regular court.
The only judge who was part of the Babri Masjid judgement bench and attended the event was Justice Ashok Bhushan.
Incidentally, Justice Bhushan was the only one in the five-judge bench who had a 116-page separate opinion on the matter, “but then CJI Gogoi eventually managed a consensus and added Justice Bhushan’s opinion as ‘addenda’, a first in the history of the apex court,” reported the Times of India.
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