The Supreme Court has refused to hear the petition seeking to defer the Ayodhya dispute verdict and to mediate it, with the court saying it should be taken up by another “appropriate” bench, reports OneIndia. The petitioner Ramesh Chand Tripathi claimed that the verdict would disturb communal harmony and lead to violence, reported NDTV, but this was earlier also rejected by the Allahabad High Court and he was hit with costs of Rs 50,000.

This Friday’s expected judgment in the case relating to the demolition of a mosque on the Babri site in 1992 by Hindu activists is widely feared to cause frictions. Today the Karnataka state government has declared a two-day school and college holiday from the day of the verdict (24 and 25 September) as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order after the ruling, reported the wire United News of India.

The Hindu has prepared a detailed and fascinating analysis of the case’s legal history.