The Government suffered two setbacks today in the Supreme Court on the Ayodhya front. It failed to persuade the court to hear earlier than February 21 its application to vacate a status quo order on the 70-acre acquired land in Ayodhya. In another case, the court decided to entertain a petition seeking review of a judgment which effectively shelved the trial of L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi for the Babri Masjid demolition.As a result, a bench headed by Chief Justice V N Khare will hear the application against the status quo order only on the eve of the VHP’s Dharam Sansad, which is due to take place on February 22 and 23.But no date has yet been fixed to hear the review petition pertaining to prosecution of the demolition case. A bench headed by Justice Rajendra Babu directed listing of the review petition settled by Mohammad Aslam Bhure’s senior counsel O P Sharma.The decision to hear this matter in the court is significant because most of the review petitions are dismissed by the judges right in their chambers.Bhure’s review petition contended that the November 29 verdict was passed on ‘‘the fraudulent, misleading, baseless and dishonest affidavit’’ filed by the Uttar Pradesh Government and requested that the matter be heard in the open court ‘‘so that substantial justice is done to the petitioner.’’A bench headed by the then chief justice of India, G B Pattanaik, had upheld a notification issued by the Mayawati Government doing two things: One, it separated the case against political leaders from the one against kar sevaks pending before the Lucknow special court.And two, it transferred the political case to be tried afresh by a special court to be set up in Rae Bareily.In the review petition, Bhure alleged that ‘‘there is a miscarriage of justice and the VVIP accused persons, L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati and five others, have been treated favourably.’’Bhure also filed an application today opposing the Centre’s application to vacate the status quo order passed last March on his petition in the run-up to a Shila Puja threatened to by held by the VHP on the acquired land in Ayodhya.Earlier in the day, the chief justice’s bench turned down the request made by Solicitor General Kirit Rawal to hear the Government’s application earlier than February 21. The application wants the court to vacate the order forbidding any religious activity on the acquired land and restraining the Government from handing over any part of it to anybody.The Government filed the application on February 4 claiming that the situation prevailing when the order was passed in the run-up to the threatened Shila Puja was ‘‘far different from the situation prevailing today.’’
