Lucknow:
Pandemonium broke out at the special media room set up outside the court shortly after the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute was pronounced.
As soon as the three-judge bench comprising Justices D V Sharma, Sudhir Agarwal and S U Khan, delivered their verdict, lawyers of the litigants rushed to the media centre and began giving their interpretations on the verdict.
At least 20 lawyers were on the dais giving their versions of the verdict in the 60-year-old title suit on the ownership of the piece of land where the 1528-built
Babri Masjid once stood.
Lawyers from both sides showed the victory sign. The media jostled hard to hear them but with many speaking at the same time, there was utter confusion.
With synopsis of the judgements not being made available immediately, the scribes had to go by what the lawyers said.
Over 600 journalists from across the country had gathered at the District Magistrate's office in Qaiserbagh area here to report on the High Court verdict.
At least 40 outdoor broadcast (OB) vans of various television channels were stationed in the compound to beam live the developments.
Several shops and business establishments, which were open earlier in the day, downed their shutters as the day progressed.
Inside the court premises, the passage leading to Court No. 21, where the verdict in the six-decade-old case was pronounced, was cordoned off and entry allowed only to the parties to the dispute and their lawyers.
Heavy presence of police personnel was seen on the way near Court Nos. 18, 19 and 20 and the special Ramjanmabhoomi- Babri Masjid section near Court No. 21.