Ayodhya case reaches crucial stage as October 18 deadline nears, intense arguments expected

New Delhi: Intense arguments are expected in the Ayodhya title dispute case in the Supreme Court on Thursday as the October 18 deadline is fast approaching, leaving seven days of active hearing in the politically vexing 70-year-old case being heard by a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

The preview of the emerging war of words - a heated argument between Hindu and Muslim parties` counsel - was visible on Tuesday. A high-pitched intervention by Muslim parties on the submission of senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for Ram Lalla Virajman, in support of the Archaeological Survey of India, tested the patience of Chief Justice Gogoi, who reprimanded the Muslim parties counsel for being repetitive.

Vaidyanathan, who had often remained calm and composed in the hearing, had also got irritated and increased his pitch on the microphone to counter the Muslim parties` counsel. For a while, the courtroom plunged into chaos.

The Sunni Waqf Board, represented by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, will begin arguments on its suit on Friday, which is most likely to conclude in the middle of the week beginning on October 14. 

Dhavan had already made the bulk of the arguments, for the Muslim parties, for close to two weeks. He has been very consistent in arguments, and though he apologized for his conduct inside the courtroom, but never backtracked on the argument.

Dhavan had also adopted fire-fighting strategy to defend arguments of other counsel in his legal team. It will be interesting to see how he strategically places his arguments before the court? whether he invokes sharp responses from opposite parties or evokes queries from the bench.

After Muslim parties conclude arguments, the Hindu side will have two or three working days to counter them. Therefore, the crucial and nervy phase in the Ayodhya dispute has arrived. After a gap of nine years, the matter is up for adjudication, and now, merely a week is left in concluding final arguments on the matter.

It is likely that a competitive and emotionally charged atmosphere, in this crucial phase, would build in the remaining days, as seen by the heated arguments on Tuesday. The continuous interference by Muslim parties have already irritated senior advocates K. Parasaran, who is also representing Ram Lalla and Vaidyanathan. The counsel has maintained composure during intense arguments where several assertions were made on Hindu faith and belief.