Ayodhya Case: Ahead of Verdict, Eight Jails Set up in Colleges in UP’s Ambedkar Nagar District

The move comes just days after the state government warned, in view of the impending verdict, that anyone posting offensive content on deities on social media would be booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

New Delhi: In its efforts to ensure that no law and order situation arises in the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict in the sensitive Ayodhya land dispute case, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday set up eight temporary jails in different colleges in the Ambedkar Nagar district of the state.

Eight temporary jails set up in different colleges in Ambedkar Nagar district ahead of probable verdict in Ayodhya case.

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 7, 2019

The Ambedkar Nagar district falls in the erstwhile Faizabad district, now known as Ayodhya district after the city which is the epicentre of the decades-long dispute. The apex court judgment in the case is scheduled to come by November 17, which is the day the incumbent Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi will demit office.

The move comes just days after the state government warned, in view of the impending verdict, that anyone posting offensive content on deities on social media would be booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

In the build-up to the verdict, efforts are being made to ensure that social harmony is not disrupted, no matter which way it goes. While both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have warned their respective ministers against making comments on the matter, police departments in various states, too, have cancelled leaves of their personnel and strengthened security in sensitive areas.

On the Hindu side, both the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), too, have asked their members and followers not to comment on the issue. Muslim clerics have also called for peace and calm on both sides.

The Ayodhya land dispute case was heard on day-to-day basis by a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by the CJI and also comprising CJI-designate SA Bobde and Justices DY Chandrachud, SA Nazeer and Ashok Bhushan. The hearing in the case began on August 6 and 41 hearings in all took place.