Calling it a strange and surprising order, the Supreme Court Monday stayed the Allahabad High Court's verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmbhoomi disputed site by which it had directed the site be divided equally between the three contending parties.

Assailing the judgment of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, the apex court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice R.M. Lodha Monday said that by directing the partition of the disputed site, the high court has given an entirely new dimension to the case.