Christians, Muslims and Hindus in Gujarat say that the supreme court order staying a lower court’s verdict on a disputed religious site in northern India has brought the case back to where it was 60 years ago. The case has been disputed in the courts since 1949 when Muslims were prevented from praying inside the mosque in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state after an idol of Lord Ram was found in it. The supreme court on May 9 stayed the ruling by the Allahabad High Court last year that accepted the site of a 16th century mosque as the birthplace of Lord Ram and distributed it in three parts--- two in favor of Hindus and one for Muslims. None of the parties accepted the verdict and challenged it. “The Allahabad high court’s order was based on faith and not law and the judgment appeared to have openly favored the Hindus,” said Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, who had welcomed the high-court verdict last September. Muslim human rights activist J. S. Bandukwala said the issue will become irrelevant over the course of time, with the public losing interest in it. Jayantilal Parmar, a Hindu, said the case has got back to the same situation where it was before and now it will take decades to decide it. Related reports Sighs of relief over Ayodhya land verdictChristians urge caution amid Ayodhya fallout ID14196