'Ayodhya title case is more like a semi-final'

Home Secretary G.K Pillai has described Friday's expected verdict on the Ayodhya title case as 'more like a semi-final' and indicated that the hour when the judgment is delivered would be crucial in preventing any kind of law and order problem.

Addressing a meeting of the India-US Strategic Partnership in New Delhi, Pillai said: "This is more like a semi-final. The high court judgment comes out on Friday afternoon. It is well timed after 3.30 pm so that the Friday prayers are over. Saturday and Sunday are holidays and it is only on Monday that one can go to the Supreme Court and get a stay. By the time you really decide what you want to do, you are back to status quo."

"India has moved on from 1992. I think the whole scenario has changed from 1992 to 2010. It is a totally different India and I think people have shown much greater maturity now, what I have seen from the comments whether it's the Hindu groups or the Muslim groups," he added.

Last Friday, the special bench of the Allahabad High Court had rejected a plea for deferment of the verdict and imposed a heavy fine on applicant Ramesh Chandra Tripathi.

The court had earlier reserved its judgment on July 26 in connection with the 60-year-old title suit.

On July 27, the court took the initiative for an amicable solution to the dispute when it called on counsel for the contending parties to go into the possibility. But no headway was made.

The demolition of the 16th century mosque triggered widespread communal riots across the country in 1992-93.