National: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Sunday said that he had prayed to God for a resolution to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute and expressed confidence that if one has faith, God will find a way. He was addressing residents of his native Kanhersar village in Khed taluka where he was felicitated.

'I sat before the deity...'

"Very often we have cases (to adjudicate) but we don't arrive at a solution. Something similar happened during the Ayodhya (Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute) which was in front of me for three months. I sat before the deity and told him he needs to find a solution," he said.

Asserting that he prays regularly, the CJI said, "Believe me, if you have faith, God will always find a way."

Supreme Court Ayodhya verdict 

A momentous chapter in the Ayodhya dispute unfolded on November 9, 2019, when the Supreme Court, led by then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, delivered a landmark judgment. CJI Gogoi settled a fractious issue that went back more than a century by paving the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The bench also ruled that a mosque will come up on an alternative five-acre plot in Ayodhya itself. The five-judge bench ruled in favour of Ram Lalla and decreed that the entire disputed land would be handed over to a trust established by the government.  

CJI Chandrachud was part of the bench that delivered the historic verdict.

Incidentally, the CJI had visited the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in July this year and offered prayers.

Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha

Bringing an end to the 500-year-long ‘exile’ of Lord Ram, the new idol of Ram Lalla, in its five-year-old form, was consecrated in Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were witness to the historic moment when the face of Ram Lalla was unveiled for the first time after its Pran Pratishtha.

The Prime Minister offered prayers to the deity and also performed ‘aarti’ on the occasion. He also performed 'Dandavat Pranam' at the Shri Ram Janmaboomi Temple in Ayodhya.