'SC order in Babri case sets a bad precedent'

The legal community has given a mixed response to the Supreme Court's decision. Justice N Santosh Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, said that such interference will set an unecessary precedent for all future cases.

"When the matter has already been listed for judgment it is the duty of the Supreme Court not to interfere and stall the verdict. Now any litigant who feels an order may go against him can approach the Supreme Court and seek a stay of the verdict," Hegde said.

"The Supreme Court does have the power to step in and act when there is a larger public interest involved. However it has been in and out of the Supreme Court since the past 18 years and that was the time they ought to have thought about it rather than step in at a time when the verdict was ready for pronouncement," Hegde said.

The mood in Lucknow is however upbeat following the Supreme Court's decision. Right from hotel staff, rickshaw and cab drivers, everyone that this correspondent spoke to did not seem to have wanted the verdict. Hotel owners said that they had a large number od cancelleations in the past week. However, now calm will be restored and it will be business as usual.

"We had completely forgotten about the issue and we have been reminded uncessarily about it now. It does not matter if there is a temple or a mosque over there but it does matter if establishments are shut down due to violence since that is what affects us ultimately," said a local resident.