Supreme Court dismisses all 18 Ayodhya review pleas; Prashant Bhushan's not entertained

On Thursday, the 5-member Supreme Court Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, Justices DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan, Sanjiv Khanna, and S Abdul Nazeer dismissed all the 18 review petitions in the Ayodhya land dispute case. They took this decision after an in-chamber hearing. On November 9, the apex court had pronounced a unanimous verdict, putting an end to a longstanding dispute. 

Read: SC's New 5-member Bench To Hear Review Petitions Against Ayodhya Verdict On Dec 12

Petitioners in the case

The petitioners in the case include: 

1. Mohammad Siddiq
2. Farooq Ahmed
3. Maulana Mufti Hasbulla Misbadin
4. Haji Mahboob Ahmad
5. Maulana Mahfuzarrahman
6. Haji Asad Ahmed
7. All India Hindu Mahasabha
8. Shia Central Board
9. Dr. Muhammad Ayub 
10. Tehreek Farukh A. Islam 
11. Samrat Priyadarshi
12. Youth Foundation of India 
13. Indian National League 
14. Prabhat Patnaik 
15. Abdul Anees Ansari 
16. Social Democratic Party of India 
17. Dal Chand Kapil
18. Ambareesh Kumar 
19. Nirmohi Akhada

Among these, the petition filed by Patnaik along with other activists and academics including Irfan Habib, Harsh Mander, Farah Naqvi, Nandini Sundar, Shabnam Hashmi, John Dayal, and Jayati Ghosh was not entertained at all as they were not a part of the original proceedings. Their counsel was Prashant Bhushan.

Read: Rajeev Dhawan Says 'Clients Claims Of My Ill-health Untrue'; AIMPLB Condemns Sacking

SC pronounces verdict 

There has been a 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 in its 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. 

Read: Rajeev Dhavan Reveals Series Of Events That Led To Him Being Sacked From Ayodhya Review

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