A shebait, under Hindu law, is entrusted with the task of maintaining and preserving an idol and its property. (Express file)The Sunni Wakf Board on Thursday told the Supreme Court that while they conceded the Nirmohi Akhara’s claim for ‘shebait’ rights in Ayodhya, it was not willing to accept its “tall claims” about it being there from centuries ago.
A shebait, under Hindu law, is entrusted with the task of maintaining and preserving an idol and its property.
Appearing for the Wakf Board and M Siddiq, who are appellants in the matter, Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhavan told a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi that a distinction has to be made between the “credible and not credible” parts of the statements by the Akhara’s witnesses. The Nirmohi Akhara is one of the three parties to the title suit.
The bench, also comprising Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer, is hearing appeals against the September 30, 2010 verdict of Allahabad High Court ordering a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres.
On Thursday, Dhavan tried to bring out alleged contradictions in the statements of the Akhara’s witnesses. Intervening, Justice Chandrachud referred to Dhavan’s statement that he was not opposed to shebait rights claimed by the Akhara and asked, “On the one hand, you admit their shebait rights. On the other, you say their evidence is mostly based on folklore etc. If that is folklore, shouldn’t this also be so?”
Dhavan replied that he will distinguish between the “credible” and “not incredible” parts of the statements.
“Somebody said Nirmohi Akhara came into being 700 years ago, some said 250 years ago… A witness said Lord Ram was there 12 lakh years ago… But I cannot get away from the fact that there are records that Nirmohi Akhara was there in 1855-56 and a suit was filed in 1885,” he said.
The senior counsel said that even as he accepted that Nirmohis are ‘shebaits’ of Ram Chabutara in the outer courtyard, some parts of their statement were not credible. “The tall claims like they were there from time immemorial have to be rejected,” he said.
The hearing in the matter will resume on September 11.
In a significant development in the case, the Sunni Wakf Board had on Wednesday accepted before the Supreme Court that there existed idols of Hindu deities in the outer courtyard of the disputed site and that they were being worshipped by Hindus.
