The Ram Janam Bhoomi court case spanning nearly 70 years from the district court of Ayodhya in 1950 right up to the Supreme Court pronouncing its judgment in November 2019 saw many historic twists and turns that ultimately paved the way for the Ayodhya Ram temple’s consecration on Monday. At the center of the dispute was a 2.77-acre area, claimed by both the Hindus and Muslims, and the matter dragged on in the court for decades. As the nation seems in a celebratory mood over the consecration ceremony, it would be worthwhile to take a look at the topography of the site before the structure, also called “Babri masjid” by a section of the population, was demolished in 1992. The entire dispute related to the land situated in the villages Kot Rama Chandra (Ramkot at Ayodhya), Pargana Haveli Avadh, Tehsil Sadar, and District Faizabad, Ayodhya. At the disputed site, there was an old structure that was the center of controversy between the two major communities of this country, i.e., Hindus and Muslims. Amongst Hindus also a religious sect known as “Ramanandi Vairagis” or “Nirmohi Akhara” had an independent and separate claim. It is claimed by Hindus in general that the disputed site is the place where Lord Rama was born. There existed a Rama temple at the site, which was demolished in 1528 by Mir Baqi, a commander of then Mughal emperor Babar, and he constructed the said disputed structure, which the Muslims claimed to be the “Babari Mosque.”. Hindus claimed that there could not be another birthplace for Lord Rama. Therefore, by its very nature, they cannot give away such a unique and singular pious place.
The topography of the site, as described by the court commissioner Shiva Shankar Lal on May 25, 1950, is that on the eastern and southern sides of the structure, there was open land. On the northern and western sides, there was a public road and a public pathway. Beyond the road in the north, there was again open land, and beyond the pathway in the west, there is a deep slope. The building has two gates, one on the east and the other on the north, known as Hanumatdwar and Singhdwar, respectively. The Hanumatdwar is the main entrance gate to the building. At this gate, there is a stone slab fixed to the ground containing the inscription. Shri Janma Bhumi Nitya Yatra and a big colored picture of Shri Hanumanji is placed at the top of the gate. The arch of this entrance gate, 10‘ in height, rests on two black Kasauli stone pillars, each 4‘ high, marked a and b, containing images of Jai and Vijai, respectively, engraved thereon. To the south of this gate on the outer wall, there is engraved a stone image, 5‘ long, known as Varah Bhagwan. The Northern Gate, known as Singhdwar, 19‘6 in height, has at its top images of Garura in the middle and two lions, one on each side. On entering the main gate, there is the pucca floor on the eastern and northern sides of the inner building, On the north of the eastern floor, there is a Neem tree, and to the south of it, there is the Bhandara (kitchen). Further south there is a raised pucca platform, 17‘ x 21‘ and 4‘ high, known as Ram Chabutra, on which stands a small temple with idols of Ram and Janki installed therein. At the southeastern corner, there is a joint neem-pipal tree, surrounded by a semi-circular pucca platform, on which are installed marble idols of Panchmukhi Mahadev, Parbati, Ganesh, and Nandi. On the northern floor, there is a pucca platform, 8‘ x 9‘, called Sita Rasoi. On this platform, there is a pucca chullah, chakla chauka, and belna, made of marble, affixed by its side. To the east of the chulha, there are four pairs of marble footprints of Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrunghna. The pucca courtyard in front of the inner (main) building is enclosed by walls intercepted by iron bars with two iron bar gates. At the southern end of this courtyard, there are 14 stairs leading to the roof of the building, and to the south of the stairs, there is a raised pucca platform 2‘ high, with a urinal at its southwest corner. There are three arched gates leading to the main building, which is divided into three portions with two arches. There is a chajja (projected roof) above one arch. The three arches are supported on 12 black kasauti stone pillars, each 6‘ high.
The pillars have carvings of kamal flowers thereon. The pillar contains the image of Shankar Bhagwan in Tandava Nritya form and another disfigured image engraved thereon. The pillar contained the carved image of Hanumanji. The other pillar has the image of Lord Krishna engraved thereon; other pillars have also got carvings of images that are effaced. In the central portion of the building at the north-western corner, there is a pucca platform with two stairs, on which is installed the idol of Bal Ram (infant Ram). At the top of the three portions of the building, there are three round domes, each on an octagonal base. There are no towers, nor is there any ghusalkhana or well in the building. Around the building, there is a pucca path known as parikrama. On the west side of the parikrama, the land is about 20low, while the pucca road on the northern side is about t 18’ Other structures found in the locality have been shown. The is covered by huts and dhunis of sadhus. Adjacent to and south of the land there is a raised platform, bounded by walls, 4‘ 6 high, with a passage towards the west, known as Shankar Chabutra. The pucca well, known as Sita koop, has a tin shed over it, and a stone slab is fixed close to it with the inscription 3-Sita koop. To the south-west of this well, there is another stone slab fixed into the ground with the inscription On the raised platform of Sumitra Bhawan, there is a stone slab fixed to the ground, marked, and carved with the image of Shesh Nag.
The disputed structure was demolished on December 6, 1992, but its topography before its demolition was noticed in the December 11, 1992, Allahabad High Court’s judgment in a Writ Petition of 1991 – Mohammad Hashim vs. State of U.P. and others. Justice S.C. Mathur of the Allahabad High Court said that though the disputed structure was demolished on December 6, 1992, it would be necessary to have a broad idea of the above structure, which is the bone of contention in all these cases. It was situated on the northeast corner of the mound or plateau, about 30’–40’ higher than the level of the highway. The liwan (sanctuary), which stood on a low plinth, was composed of three square bays, roofed by three single broad and high domes. The skeleton is mainly built of brick and mortar. The enclosing wall through which the entrance is given is said to have been constructed in the middle of the nineteenth century. It had twelve corner pillars on the angles of six main piers, which make up the nave, or central bay, of the mosque. The small pillars were made of black stone of the family “schist,” polished and commonly called “Kasauti” stone. These pillars did not support the main load of the ceiling, which passed down to the main columns of the ground floor, but only carried the lintels of the opening extensions. The pillars were not load-bearing but simply strengthened the piers at their corners. The three domes appeared to be disproportionate. They were allegedly repaired, restored, or renovated from time to time. The Court further said that in 1949/1950, when the present dispute arose, there were three inscriptions. One is a Persian epigraph of 8 verses, carved in relief in 4 lines in Naskh, above the hajj on the central arch. Below the Chhajjas, Quranic verses from Chapter CXII were carved. Two other inscriptions are said to have been lost in the 1934 riots but were replaced. One was on the southern side of the pulpit, and another was on the right hand of the pulpit. The contents of those inscriptions would be dealt with and reproduced later on while dealing with the relevant issue. The story of the Ram Janam Bhoomi court case starts with an incident that happened on the intervening night of December 22–23, 1949, when some Mahants and prominent Hindu devotees kept the idol of Ram Lalla and other idols inside the central dome of the disputed structure.
The old structure was under government protection from the time of the British period. Thereafter, suits were filed by some Hindu devotees seeking their fundamental right to worship in that area. A total of five suits were filed in the district court over 39 years. Four suits were filed by the Hindus and one by the Muslim side. One suit was withdrawn as the petitioner cited ill health. The Allahabad High Court bench of Justice S U Khan, Justice Sudhir Aggarwal, and Justice D V Sharma on September 30, 2010, pronounced its judgment with a majority decision of 2:1 and held that the 2.77 acres of disputed land be divided among three parties: the Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara, and the Deity Ram Lalla, or the infant Ram, represented by Hindu Mahasabha. The High Court order was challenged in the Supreme Court on May 9, 2011. A five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S. A. Bobde, Justice D. Y Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan, and Justice Abdul S. Nazeer unanimously pronounced its verdict on November 9, 2019. The bench directed that the disputed land (2.77 acres) be handed over to a trust (to be created by the government of India) to build the Ram Janmabhoomi (revealed as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Sri Ram) temple.