More than four years after the historic Ayodhya verdict of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Monday said the five-judges, who ruled in favour of construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site, had unanimously decided there will be no authorship ascribed to the judgment.

On November 9, 2019, settling a fractious issue that went back more than a century, a five-judge bench headed by the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi had paved the way for construction of the temple and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot will be found for a mosque in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, CJI Chandrachud, who was part of the constitution bench, candidly spoke on the issue of anonymity and said, when the judges sat together, as they do before a pronouncement, it was unanimously decided that this will be a “judgment of the court”.

He was replying to the query as to why the name of the author judge was not made public.

“When the five-judge bench sat to deliberate on the judgment as we all do before a Judgment is pronounced, we all decided unanimously that this will be a judgment of the court. And, therefore, there was no authorship ascribed to any individual judge,” the CJI said.

“The case has a long history of conflict, of diverse viewpoints based on the history of the nation and all those who were part of the bench decided that this will be a judgment of the court. The court will speak through one voice and the idea of doing so was to send a clear message that all of us stood together not only in the ultimate outcome but in the reasons indicated in the judgment,” he said, adding “I will close my answer with that.” 

Delivering a unanimous verdict on the case that long polarised the country and frayed the secular tapestry of Indian society, the Supreme Court bench had said in 2019 that the faith of Hindus that Lord Ram was born at the site was undisputed, and he was symbolically the owner of the land.

Yet, it is also clear that the destruction of the 16th century three-domed structure by Hindu kar sevaks, who want to build a Ram temple there, was a wrong that “must be remedied,” the court had said.

It said it is not concerned with faith and belief and instead treated the case as a title dispute over land between three parties — the Sunni Muslim Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu group, and the symbolic Lord Rama designated as Ram Lalla Virajman (the deity).

The judgment, running into 1,045 pages, was widely welcomed by Hindu politicians and groups, while the Muslim leadership said they will accept the verdict, even though they described it as flawed. Still, they called for peace and calm, and leaders across the political spectrum had noted that it was now time to move on.

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Japan has been hit since Monday by 155 earthquakes including a 7.6-magnitude jolt and another over 6, the Japan Meteorological Office said.

Most of the quakes had a magnitude greater than 3 and while the strength has gradually moderated, six strong jolts were still felt early Tuesday, the JMA said.

At least eight people died in a major earthquake that struck central Japan on New Year’s Day, triggering tsunami waves over a metre high, damaging homes and sparking a major fire that wreaked destruction overnight, authorities said Tuesday.

The scale of the damage from Monday’s quake was still emerging, with news footage showing toppled buildings, sunken boats at a port, countless charred homes, and locals without power in freezing overnight temperatures.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which struck Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu had a magnitude of 7.5.

Japanese authorities put it at 7.6 and said it was one of more than 90 quakes that had rocked the region as of 1:00 am Tuesday (1600 GMT Monday).

Waves at least 1.2 metres (four feet) high hit the port of Wajima on Monday, and a series of smaller tsunamis were reported elsewhere, but warnings of much larger waves proved unfounded.

Aerial news footage showed sunken boats at the fishing port of Suzu, with at least one washed onto shore, and devastation from a major fire in Wajima.

Around 32,700 households in the region remained without power on Tuesday, the local energy provider said.

Tens of thousands of people had been ordered to evacuate, according to the fire and disaster management agency, cited by Kyodo. About 1,000 people were staying at a military base, the defence ministry said.

“I instructed (emergency workers) to reach the area as soon as possible by using whatever means available,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said late Monday after a disaster response meeting.

“It is very cold now. I issued an instruction to deliver necessary supplies like water, food, blankets, heating oil, gasoline, fuel oil, by using planes or ships,” Kishida told reporters.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

At least eight people have died in an earthquake that struck Japan on New Year’s Day as authorities on Tuesday struggled to assess the full extent of a disaster that wrecked buildings and roads and left thousands without power in freezing temperatures.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck in the middle of the afternoon on Monday, prompting residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves about 1 metre (3.3 ft) high hit Japan’s western seaboard.

A thousand army personnel have been dispatched to the worst-hit area in the country’s relatively remote Noto peninsula, but rescue operations have been hindered by badly damaged and blocked roads and one of the area’s airports has been forced to close due to runway cracks.

Many rail services and flights into the area have also been suspended.

“The search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle against time,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during an emergency disaster meeting on Tuesday in remarks aired on television.

“We must rescue them as quickly as possible, especially those who are trapped under collapsed structures.”

Public broadcaster NHK said eight deaths had been reported in the hard-hit town of Wajima near the quake’s epicentre, while in nearby Suzu some doctors were unable to reach a hospital that was relying on a backup generator for power. The national police said agency six people had been confirmed dead.

More than 90 tremors have been detected since the quake first hit on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The agency has warned more strong shocks could hit in coming days.

In Toyama city, around 100 km (60 miles) from the worst-hit area, some shelves in convenience stores were empty as the disaster disrupted the delivery of goods across the region.

Four expressways, two high-speed rail services, 34 local train lines and 16 ferry lines were halted, while 38 flights have been cancelled since the quake hit, according to the transport ministry.

President Joe Biden said in a statement the United States was ready to provide any necessary help to Japan after the earthquake.

“As close allies, the United States and Japan share a deep bond of friendship that unites our people. Our thoughts are with the Japanese people during this difficult time,” he said.

The Japanese government said as of Monday night it had ordered more than 97,000 people in nine prefectures on the western coast of main island Honshu to evacuate. They were spending the night in sports halls and school gymnasiums, commonly used as evacuation centres in emergencies.

Almost 33,000 households remained without power in Ishikawa prefecture early on Tuesday morning, according to Hokuriku Electric Power’s website. Most areas in the northern Noto peninsula also have no water supply, NHK reported.

The Imperial Household Agency said it would cancel Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s slated New Year appearance on Tuesday following the disaster.

Nuclear Plants

The quake comes at a sensitive time for Japan’s nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some locals since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Whole towns were devastated in that disaster.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities were found at nuclear plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui Prefecture.

Hokuriku Electric’s Shika plant, the closest to the epicentre, had already halted its two reactors before the quake for regular inspections and saw no impact from the quake, the agency said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)