oppn parties The Ayodhya Verdict: First Impressions

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Tragedy in Kolkata: Stampede at the Chor Bagan Pujo results in 18 people losing their lives and scores injured /////// The stampede was caused by a sudden downpour which made people in the heavy crowd run for cover
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The Ayodhya Verdict: First Impressions

By Sunil Garodia

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

In the end, the judges went by evidence and arrived at a unanimous decision. They clearly stated that the masjid was not built on vacant land. They also stated that the findings of the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) cannot be disputed. It also categorically said that the Sunni Wakf Board (SuWB) failed to support its arguments with evidence. As a corollary, it dismissed the Nirmohi Akhada's claim for shebait rights and the Special Leave Petition filed by the Shia Wakf Board (ShWB) disputing the SuWB right to be a party to the suit.

The court restored the ownership of the disputed land to the Centre. It gave the inner area, measuring 2.77 acres, of the disputed structure to Ram Lalla, the Hindu deity that was deemed to be a juridical person. It gave the periphery of the structure to a separate trust. It asked the Centre to draw up a plan to construct the temple and take a decision on how the rest of the land could be used.

The court was also categorical in saying that although the Muslims had proved that they used to pray at the disputed site from 1857 to 1949 when they were ousted after idols were placed in the so-called garbh-griha, they had absolutely failed to prove that they had exclusive possession of the site before 1857. This was a major drawback.

One feels that the fact that the Muslims failed to prove exclusive possession of the disputed land before 1857, coupled with the fact that the ASI said that there was evidence that the masjid was not constructed on vacant, as also the fact that namaz was not offered at the site since 1949 guided the court to arrive at the decision. Also, once Ram Lalla was recognized as a deity, as a juridical person, there was no legal barrier in transferring the right to him.

 

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