Ram temple verdict was based on law, not religion, ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi says

Former Indian Chief Justice (CJI) and Rajya Sabha member Ranjan Gogoi said Ram Janmabhoomi’s verdict was based on “law” and not “religion”.

Speaking at a reception in Varanasi on Monday, Gogoi, whose nomination to the Upper House just six months after his retirement drew sharp criticism from some opposition parties, said the ruling in the dispute Ayodhya was not his personal decision. “It was not my decision but the decision of the Supreme Court,” he said.

“Five judges had drafted the 900-page judgment in three or four months … The verdict was based on the law and the Constitution and not on religion,” Gogoi added.

He also said that for a judge, the Constitution is religion.

Read also – Congress accuses BJP of “Ram Droh” in Ayodhya temple land deal

Gogoi led the bench of the Supreme Court, which delivered the verdict in the title trials of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in November 2019. The court gave the disputed land to the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust and ordered the government of Uttar Pradesh to provide different land for the purpose of building the Babri Masjid near Faizabad.

Gogoi had also headed the bench of the Supreme Court which had given a clear opinion to the Center on the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France. Congress had alleged corruption in the case and demanded an investigation into it.

He was also one of four justices who held a press conference, when Judge Dipak Mishra was on CJI, and alleged the selective allocation of cases to preferred Supreme Court justices.

Previously, Gogoi had defended the decision to appoint him to the Rajya Sabha.

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