A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will take up the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute case on January 4.
The apex court in October rejected an urgent hearing into the matter after Uttar Pradesh government argued that it should be taken up on priority because it is a 100-year-old dispute. Chief Justice Gogoi then said that the court has its “own priorities”. He said that an appropriate bench would decide when would the hearing take place.
The SC ruling pulled the trigger for loud demands for an ordinance with BJP and RSS to press for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
The Allahabad High Court passed a verdict in 2010 which ruled out the partitioning of 2.77-acre land into three– for the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla(who was a party to the case). This verdict was challenged by 14 petitions. All the petitions in the case will be heard by a three-judge bench comprising of Justice S K Kaul also. The bench will also decide the timeline for the case.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that BJP wishes that the Supreme Court hears the Ram Mandir land dispute case on a daily basis to deliver an early judgment.
Various saffron outfits have been constantly pressing the government to bring a law which would pave the way for construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya even before the court’s verdict comes. BJP, however, has not made its position clear on the demand so far.