The Supreme Court on Thursday, dismissed all 18 review petitions filed against the Ayodhya verdict, which allowed the entire disputed land for a Ram temple to be built at the site. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde rejected the bunch of petitions after finding no merits. 18 review petitions have been filed against the verdict – nine filed by parties who were part of the previous litigation and the other nine have been filed by third parties.
The first petition seeking review of Ayodhya verdict was filed on December 2 in the Supreme Court by Maulana Syed Ashhad Rashidi – legal heir of original litigant M Siddiq and Uttar Pradesh president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. Six petitions were filed seeking review of the same on December 6. On December 9, two more review petitions were filed – by Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha and other by 40 persons including human rights activists.
On November 9, the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suit, clearing the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the 2.77-acres disputed site in Ayodhya and giving an alternate five-acre land to the Sunni Waqf Board at some other suitable place for construction of a mosque.