Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid Dispute: Section 144 Imposed in Ayodhya till Dec 10

Authorities have imposed restrictions under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (which prohibits the assembly of more than four people) in Ayodhya, in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case.

The apex court will resume its proceedings in the decade-old case on Monday. It has been said that this week will be the final one of prolonged hearings in the case, as the proceedings are expected to conclude on October 17, hence, in a bid to avoid any unwanted incident, the administration has imposed Section 144 till December 10 in the temple town.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Ayodhya district magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha informed, “Considering the safety and security of those visiting Ayodhya as the government’s paramount concern, Section 144 has been imposed. It will be in force till December 10.”

https://twitter.com/anujias09/status/1183411913272639488

Furthermore, he asserted,“I must add that already there is another order in force since August 31 covering aspects of unlawful and undesirable activities. The order dated 12.10.2019 [Saturday] has been issued to cover a couple of points which were not there in the earlier order.”

If reports are to be believed, one of the Muslim litigant in the Ayodhya case, has welcomed the decision to impose section 144. He stated that the restriction was necessary to maintain peace and harmony in Ayodhya. Echoing similar sentiments, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) regional spokesperson said that the organisation welcomed “every step to ensure peace and harmony in” Ayodhya.

He also tweeted the copy of the order which was issued yesterday.