CJI Gogoi meets UP chief secretary, DGP ahead of Ayodhya verdict

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi Friday held a meeting with Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and director general of police and took stock of security arrangements ahead of the verdict to be pronounced next week in the politically-sensitive Ayodhya land dispute case, sources said.

They said the meeting was held in the chamber of CJI for around one hour during which UP Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari and DGP Om Prakash Singh apprised him about the security arrangements made to maintain law and order in the state.

No further detail about the deliberations was made available.

The judgement on the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute was reserved on October 16 after a marathon hearing of 40 days. The judgement is likely to be pronounced before November 17 as Justice Gogoi's tenure as the CJI comes to end on that day.

Centre issues advisory

The Centre had already rushed around 4,000 paramilitary personnel to Uttar Pradesh while the Railway police cancelled leave of its force and stepped up vigil at 78 major stations and on trains as part of its security preparedness ahead of Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict expected next week.

As the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday sent a general advisory to all the states and Union territories asking them to deploy adequate security personnel at all sensitive places, political leaders made fresh calls to people not to indulge in making provocative remarks or spreading rumours.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had discussed the Ayodhya issue with his council of ministers and asked them to refrain from making unnecessary statements on the subject and maintain harmony in the country, according to sources.

As part of goodwill measures, meetings were being held by police with members of Hindu and Muslim communities with an appeal to them to maintain calm.

Ayodhya is also expected to see a heavy rush of pilgrims next week over Karthik Purnima as the local administration gears up to ensure calm. Lakhs of devotees are expected to gather in the pilgrim town on November 12 for Karthik Purnima Snan.

As the locals keep fingers crossed, they hope there won't be any trouble after the verdict.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS)