Kudla Connection in Ayodhya Case! One of 5-Judge Bench was Alumnus of SDM College, Justice S A Nazeer

Kudla Connection in Ayodhya Case! One of 5-Judge Bench was Alumnus of SDM College, Justice S A Nazeer

Kudla Connection in Ayodhya Case! One of 5-Judge Bench was Alumnus of SDM College, Mangaluru, Justice S A Nazeer

Mangaluru: The Supreme Court pronounced in a historic judgement on Saturday, 9 November 2019, that a temple be constructed for Hindus on a 2.77-acre site in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya town, which has been the epicentre of independent India’s biggest religio-political wrangle, while Muslims should get an alternative land to build a potential mosque on a 5 acre land. The five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, ruled unanimously that the spot, where frenzied right-wing mobs destroyed the four-centuries-old Babri Masjid in 1992, should be handed over to a trust that the Centre must constitute in three months to oversee the construction of a temple, subject to conditions.

In the judgement running into 1,045 pages, the apex court said a report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) provided evidence of the remains of a building “that was not Islamic” beneath the demolished mosque. The bench, also comprising Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer, noted that the faith of Hindus that Ram was born at the site of the now-razed masjid is undisputed, and the existence of structures like Sita Rasoi, Ram Chabutra and Bhandar Grih are testimony to the religious fact of the place. However, the title cannot be established on the ground of faith and belief and they are only indicators for deciding the dispute, the five judges also said.

Now, among the 5-judge bench was Justice S A Nazeer, an alumnus of Shree Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) Law college, on M GT Road, Mangaluru who was part of the verdict in the Ayodhya case. Born on 5 January 1958, in Belvai near Moodbidri, had his early education at Mahaveera College, Moodbidri where he completed his B Com. After completing his studies in Law at SDM College, Justice SA Nazeer had practiced in the Karnataka High Court for 20 years after he enrolled as an advocate in February 1983. He was later appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court in 2003 and as a permanent judge in 2004.

It is learnt that apart from this Ayodhya Verdict, Justice Abdul Nazeer has also been the member of the five-bench judge which delivered the historical Triple Talaq verdict.