Published 14:24 IST, December 11th 2019
SC bench to hold an in-chamber hearing pertaining to Ayodhya review pleas on Dec 12
The Supreme Court 5-judge bench will hold an in-chamber hearing on Dec 12 to decide whether to hear the Ayodhya review petitions in open court or not.
As per a lawyer connected with the Ayodhya land dispute case, the Supreme Court 5-judge bench will hold an in-chamber hearing on December 12 to decide whether to hear the Ayodhya review petitions in open court or not. Already, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind has filed a review petition in the SC. Moreover, 40 academics and activists including Irfan Habib, Harsh Mander, Farah Naqvi, Nandini Sundar, Shabnam Hashmi, John Dayal, and Jayati Ghosh have also filed a review plea through senior advocate Prashant Bhushan. According to an All India Muslim Personal Board office-bearer, six more litigants are likely to follow suit.
The Ayodhya land dispute case
There has been a longstanding legal dispute about the ownership of land in Ayodhya, which is considered as the birthplace of Lord Ram. The Allahabad High Court gave its judgment on this disputed land in 2010, partitioning it among the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. Thereafter, 14 appeals were filed in the SC against this judgment of the Allahabad High Court. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was part of the Ayodhya mediation panel headed by former SC Justice Kalifulla. The panel submitted a report to the SC outlining its proposals to solve the dispute. Finally, the Constitution bench of the SC, comprising of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer pronounced a unanimous verdict on November 9, awarding the entire disputed area to the Hindu parties. It directed the Centre to formulate a scheme within three months which will be responsible for building a temple. On the other hand, the SC ordered that an alternative land of 5 acres in Ayodhya would be given to the Sunni Central Waqf Board for the construction of a mosque.
PM Modi talks about verdict
Addressing the nation after the Ayodhya judgment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about the verdict delivered by the Supreme Court in the Ayodhya land dispute case. He highlighted India's democratic tradition. Moreover, he added that crores of Indians had created a new history on November 9.
He had remarked, "The Supreme Court has pronounced its verdict on a very important matter, which has a centuries-long history. The entire country desired that this matter should be heard in the court every day, which happened. Today, the verdict has come out. The judicial proceedings which continued till decades have come to an end now. Friends, the entire world believes that India is the world’s largest democracy. Today, the world has also come to know that India’s democracy is so alive and strong."
Updated 18:00 IST, December 11th 2019