Supreme Court likely to fix schedule for Ayodhya hearing on January 10
NEW DELHI: The 70-year-old politically sensitive litigation between Hindu and Muslim parties for ownership of the 2.77 acre Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid land moved towards final adjudication as the Supreme Court on Friday indicated that a schedule for hearing could likely be fixed on January 10.
In an anti-climax to the build-up before Friday’s hearing, for which lawyers, visitors and journalists thronged court number 1 in large numbers anticipating an order of significance, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul took less than 30 seconds to dictate: “Further orders in the matter will be passed on January 10 by the appropriate Bench, as may be constituted.”
However, the CJI-led two-judge bench on Friday could not have fixed a schedule for hearing as the SC in its September 29 judgement rejected a demand by Muslim parties for reference of the pending appeals for adjudication before a five-judge bench and ruled that a three-judge bench was competent to decide the land dispute.
This means the CJI will set up a three-judge bench for hearing the case on January 10 and it is likely that two judges of the previous bench – Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer – would be part of the new three-judge bench. The other judge of the erstwhile bench, which gave the September 29 verdict – then CJI Dipak Misra – has since retired. It is unclear whether CJI Gogoi would himself fill the vacancy, or draft in another judge or constitute afresh a three-judge bench on January 10.
On September 29, a bench of then CJI Misra and Justices Bhushan and Nazeer, by 2-1 majority, had held that appeals against the Allahabad HC’s verdict on Ayodhya land dispute will be heard by a 3-judge bench. Justice Nazeer had leaned in favour of Ayodhya dispute being sent to a five-judge bench.
There are 16 appeals and petitions by Hindu and Muslim parties challenging the Allahabad HC’s October, 2010 verdict, which divided 2.77 acres of Ayodhya land equally between idol Ram Lalla, Sunni Wakf Board and Nirmohi Akhara.
With RSS and right-wing political parties upping the ante for a law for construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya, Muslim parties are likely to reiterate their original submissions, made by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Rajeev Dhavan, for postponing the hearing beyond the 2019 general election.
PM Narendra Modi in a recent interview had said the government would allow the legal process to culminate before deciding whether or not to embark on a legislative step on the contentious issue of Ram Temple.
The SC had on May 9, 2011, admitted the appeals and stayed the operation of the HC order. The first hearing on the appeals against the 2010 HC verdict took place on December 5, 2017. Sibal, Dhavan and Dushyant Dave, senior counsel for Muslim parties, had unhesitatingly used politics, religion and even alleged ‘agenda’ and ‘bias’ for the “hurry’ being shown by CJI Misra-led bench in deciding the decades-old litigation and sought its reference to a five or seven-judge bench.
“This matter is pending in SC for last seven years. This is the most important litigation in the history of the nation. It will impact the future of India. A decision in this case will have ramification that will go far beyond the four walls of this court. So what is the hurry? Let us get enough time to prepare arguments. Let it go before a five or seven judge bench. Put it for day-to-day hearing from July 15, 2019,” Sibal had argued.
When the counsel had said that in any case the hearing would go on for more than a year given the voluminous documents and evidence cited by parties before the HC to seek postponement of hearing, then CJI Misra had said that if the arguments lasted for 90 days before the HC why should it take more time than that in the apex court.
Two judges who heard temple case will be part of new bench
It is likely that two judges of the previous SC bench — Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer — would be part of the new three-judge bench on the Ayodhya land dispute case. The other judge of the erstwhile bench, which gave the September 29 verdict — then CJI Dipak Misra — has since retired. It is unclear whether CJI Gogoi would himself fill the vacancy, or draft in another judge or constitute afresh a three-judge bench on January 10.
On September 29, a bench of then CJI Misra and Justices Bhushan and Nazeer, by a 2-1 majority, had held that appeals against the Allahabad HC’s verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute will be heard by a three-judge bench. Justice Nazeer had leaned in favour of the Ayodhya dispute being sent to a five-judge bench.
There are 16 appeals and petitions by Hindu and Muslim parties challenging the Allahabad HC’s October 2010 verdict, which divided 2.77 acres of Ayodhya land equally between idol Ram Lalla, the Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara.
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