India News

Ayodhya case in SC Day 4: Day-to-day hearing to continue, rules court

Published

7 years ago

August 9, 2019

The fourth day of hearing in Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case today (Friday, Aug 9) saw an exhausted counsel for All India Sunni Waqf Board, Rajeev Dhawan, saying that it is not possible to assist the Supreme Court if the case is heard for a whole week.

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who is hearing the case along with Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan, and SA Nazeer, said that he had taken note of Dhavan’s submission and will revert.

Later, the Court cleared the air that it will continue to hear the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute on a day-to-day basis. The apex court assured Dhavan that it would consider granting him mid-week break for preparing arguments.

The five-judge Bench had decided yesterday to sit for all five days, including Monday and Friday, for a fast-track hearing in the case. Normally, Mondays and Fridays are reserved for miscellaneous matters — fresh cases and those on which notices have been issued.

During the hearing yesterday, the counsel of Ramlalla Virajman, senior advocate K Parasaran, told the apex court that both Hindu and Muslim parties in the case consider Ayodhya as the birthplace of Lord Ram and thus, there is no difference of opinion in this regard.

Parasaran told the five-judge Constitution bench that “janmasthan (birthplace) need not mean just the spot, and can mean the entire surroundings”.

Justice Bhushan told Parasaran that one of the petitioners in the suit was janmasthan – birthplace – and wondered whether a place could be regarded as a juristic person having stakes as a litigant in the case.

The apex court had said on the third day of the hearing that so far as Hindu deities were concerned, they have been legally treated as juristic persons who can hold property, defend and intervene in lawsuits. It asked Parasaran how Janamsthanam can file the case in the land dispute as a party.

The law suit filed by the deity in the Ayodhya case has also made the birth place of Lord Ram as co-petitioner and has sought claim over the entire 2.77 acre of disputed land at Ayodhya where the structure was razed on December 6, 1992.

Continuing the argument today, senior advocate K Parasaran appearing for Ram Lalla Virajman told the apex court that Hindus do not worship Gods in any definite form, they worship them as the divine incarnation which does not have any form and the Hindus worshipped Lord Ram before the deity was placed and the temple was built.

Also Read : Ayodhya case: Supreme Court asks Nirmohi Akhara for evidence to establish possession

Parasaran said that one such example is the temple of Kedarnath which does not has an idol.

Parasaran further submitted: “A Hindu idol is considered as a juristic person and is capable of holding property as a legal person. A juridical person is a corporate person. The deity is treated as a living being and is considered as the master of the house in the same way as servants treat their masters. The concept of idol worship came only to enable concentration, however what is important is the deity and not the image or its form. There is a Parikrama marg where the people used to do parikrama and there was no idol. This may lead to the inference that the parikrama was for the whole Janmasthan.”

Up Next

Indian-American doctor couple and teen daughter killed in plane crash

Don't Miss

Intense Monsoon Rain wreaks havoc in different parts of India

India News

Delhi-NCR sees second spell of rain and thunderstorms in four days

Delhi-NCR experienced another spell of rain and thunderstorms on March 18, with IMD forecasting more showers over the next few days.

Published

1 hour ago

March 18, 2026

[email protected]

Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies for March 19 and 20, with chances of light rain or thundershowers occurring once or twice during the day. On March 21, skies are expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of light showers continuing.

Conditions are likely to stabilise from March 23 onwards, with forecasts indicating a return to partly cloudy to clear skies across the region.

Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

Meanwhile, the western Himalayan region is also set to witness a shift in weather patterns. Himachal Pradesh is likely to receive heavy rainfall on March 19 and 20, while Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir may experience heavy showers around March 20.

India News

Centre pushes states to cut levies to boost PNG adoption

The Centre has asked states to reduce local levies and streamline approvals to accelerate PNG adoption and city gas infrastructure growth.

Published

4 hours ago

March 18, 2026

[email protected]

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

To address this, the ministry has proposed increasing LPG allocation to 30 per cent for states that implement reforms supporting PNG and CGD expansion.

Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
Introducing single-window clearance with deemed approvals within 24 hours
Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.

India News

BJP seals Assam seat-sharing pact, Modi to hold 3 rallies in April

BJP has finalised its Assam seat-sharing plan with allies and is gearing up for an intense campaign led by PM Modi and Amit Shah.

Published

4 hours ago

March 18, 2026

[email protected]

The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, firming up its strategy alongside National Democratic Alliance partners as campaigning gathers pace in the state.

Under the agreement, the BJP will contest 89 seats, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front — will field candidates in 26 and 11 constituencies respectively. The distribution has been decided after internal deliberations, with the focus now shifting to candidate announcements and campaign execution.

Campaign push led by top leadership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies in Assam during the final leg of the campaign. Tentative dates for the rallies are April 1, April 3 and April 6, with events likely to be held in key constituencies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also set to spearhead an extensive campaign across the state through March, aiming to energise party workers and strengthen voter outreach.

Candidate selection underway

The party’s Central Election Committee is currently meeting to finalise candidates. Sources indicate that approvals for most constituencies are expected soon, and the BJP may release its complete list of candidates within the next two days.

Ticket distribution remains a crucial exercise, with internal discussions highlighting its potential impact on local political dynamics. Party leaders have also touched upon the proposed delimitation exercise scheduled for 2027, which is expected to have long-term implications for Assam’s electoral landscape.