Supreme Court defers Ayodhya verdict

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed for a week the Ayodhya title suit verdict that was due to be pronounced by Allahabad High Court on Friday and will hear the plea for deferment of the judgement on 28 September. The court also issued notice to all the parties to the title suit and asked the attorney general to be present in the court when the case is heard. The Supreme Court is hearing a petition by retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chand Tripathi, that the verdict be postponed because it could lead to communal violence.