NEW DELHI: India's Supreme Court on Monday suspended a High Court ruling over the partition of a disputed site that has been a flashpoint for Hindu-Muslim clashes.
A two-justice bench questioned the reasoning behind a ruling passed last year that divided the site of the former Babri Masjid destroyed by Hindu rioters in 1992 into three separate plots for Hindus, Muslims, and a local Hindu trust.
"This (ruling) is very strange and surprising. Nobody has prayed for partition of the area. The Allahabad High Court has given a new relief which was not sought by anybody," said Aftab Alam, the presiding judge.
The two judges ordered that the "status quo" should be maintained at the site, banning either of the groups from beginning construction activities.
The order comes on the first day of a Supreme Court hearing of petitions from people challenging the partition.