The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up a batch of petitions for hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case. The matter is listed before a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul. It is likely to constitute a three-judge bench for hearing as many as 14 appeals filed against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land is partitioned equally among the three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
The apex court on October 29 had fixed the matter in the first week of January before an "appropriate bench", which will decide the schedule of hearing. Later, an application was moved for an urgent hearing by advancing the date, but the top court had refused the plea, saying it had already passed an order on October 29 relating to the hearing on the matter. The plea for early hearing was moved by the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) which is one of the respondents in the appeal filed by legal heirs of M Siddiq, one of the original litigants in the case.
A three-judge bench of the top court had on September 27, by 2:1 majority, refused to refer to a five-judge constitution bench the issue of reconsideration of the observations in its 1994 judgment that a mosque was not integral to Islam. The matter had arisen during the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute. Various Hindutva organizations have been demanding an ordinance on early construction of Ram temple at the disputed site.
The hearing on Friday assumes importance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday suggested any decision on an ordinance on Ram temple in Ayodhya can happen only after the completion of the judicial process. Modi's comments came amidst heightened demands by Hindutva organizations, including the RSS, for an ordinance for early construction of the temple.
"Let the judicial process take its own course. Don't weigh it in political terms. Let the judicial process be over. After the judicial process is over, whatever be our responsibility as a government, we are ready to make all efforts," the Prime Minister said during an interview, broadcast by several TV channels.
2.77 acres of land was ordered to be distributed equally between Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lala.
The Supreme Court had said on October 29 last year that this matter will be listed before the appropriate bench in the first week of January, which will determine the program for its hearing. Later, All India Hindu Mahasabha had filed an application and urged to hasten the hearing, but the Supreme Court refused to do so. The Supreme Court had said that on October 29, the order has already been passed regarding the hearing of this case.
Earlier, on September 27, 2018, a three-member bench, headed by the Chief Justice Deepak Mishra, made a comment in a 1994 decision with a majority of 2: 1 refusing to send a fresh idea near the bench of five judges. Had given. It was remarked in this judgment that the mosque is not an integral part of Islam.
