New Delhi: In a twist to the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid legal tangle, the Nirmohi Akhara which is one of the major parties to title suit on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to decide on the title suit and not return the excess land to the original owners as demanded by the Centre. 

The Akhara filed an application in the Supreme Court (SC) opposing Centre’s request to release excess land acquired in Ayodhya.

The Akhara in its application said the government could not now get the land back so that it could give it away to anybody it wanted. It said in the application to the apex court that Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, another party to the case, could not be given the majority of the land.

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The Akhara contended that the 1991 acquisition of 67.07 acre land around the Ram Temple site by the government had forced a lot of temples managed and run by the Akhara to close down. Many, the Akhara said, were destroyed. 

The Akhara told the SC that it wanted the apex court to finally settle the title dispute.

The Centre had moved the SC in February this year seeking permission to return the 67-acre acquired land around the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site to its original owners.

In a fresh plea, the Centre said it had acquired 67 acres of land around the 2.77-acre disputed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid site.

The government wants the removal of the status quo on the non-disputed land.

The government wants to hand over this land to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, a trust founded by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to promote and oversee the construction of the Ram temple.

The plea filed by the Centre said that the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas had sought the return of excess land acquired in 1991 to the original owners.