Just a day ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya on December 1992, the Supreme Court of India is set to begin final hearing in the politically controversial Babri Masjid-Ram temple dispute case.
A special bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer will assemble at 2pm on December 5, Tuesday, to begin hearing a total of 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad High Court in four civil suits.
The high court had then ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acre area at Ayodhya among the parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the deity Ram Lalla (Ram as an infant).
Contesting parties, including the Uttar Pradesh government, are likely to make their opening statements on Tuesday.
The Sunni board also challenged the judgment, saying the verdict was based on faith rather than documentary evidence. It also said the verdict violates Articles 25-26 of the Constitution, which grants equal rights to all faiths. The appeal has the endorsement of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, one of the original litigants.
Tuesday’s hearing comes in the backdrop of a failed suggestion by the SC in March this year, when it had suggested an out-of-court settlement. None of the parties were keen on it.