Ayodhya case:Verdict reserved; 5 judges to sit in chambers on Thursday

Hours after the five-judge constitutional bench in the Supreme Court reserved the verdict in the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid land dispute case of Ayodhya, the apex court has issued a notice that the judges will sit in chambers on Thursday. The five-judge bench of the case comprising of Cheif Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S A Bopde, Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justice S Abdul Nazeer will sit in their chambers, that is they will not attend any open court hearings on October 17. The notice by the apex court hints that the judges of the apex court will start working at the final verdict from Thursday. sources also said that judges will discuss on whether the details of the mediation panel report could be made public. Earlier, the bench concluded the oral hearing in the case and gave three-day time to the parties to file their written arguments. 

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Here is the notice by the apex court:

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Supreme Court reserves verdict

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 16, reserved the verdict in the contentious and politically-sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid land dispute case. The bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, and comprising of SC judges Justices S.A. Bopde, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan, S. Abdul Nazeer reserved the verdict in the case after hearing the concluding arguments from the parties. The oral arguments in the long-pending Ayodhya case has been concluded. The apex court has given three days' time to the parties to file any written submissions.

READ: Supreme Court reserves Ayodhya verdict after 40-day marathon hearings

Sunni Waqf board surrendered its claim over the disputed land

In a significant twist on the 40th day of the day-to-day hearing in the Ayodhya case, mediation panel of Justice FMI Kalifulla, Senior advocate Sriram Panchu, and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar filed a settlement report before the Supreme Court. This came after the Sunni Waqf board surrendered its claim over the disputed land in Ayodhya. The decision came in light of an agreement reached between a few parties during the mediation proceedings, at the final leg of the hearing on the 2.77 acres disputed land. The mediation panel submitted the sealed report in the apex court. 

READ: Ayodhya case: Sunni Waqf board agrees to give up disputed land claim