A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court will begin hearing the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi land dispute case from February 26. Justice SA Bobde who is part of the five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, has returned from leave. The five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India will comprise Justices Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer.
The case was slated to be heard by the court on January 28 but was adjourned since Justice Bobde was not available. Earlier, the matter was deferred due to Justice UU Lalit’s decision to recuse himself. A Muslim petitioner had raised objections to his presence on the bench because he had represented senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh in a criminal case in the past.
The matter has been pending before the top court for the last nine years. The three parties – Nirmohi Akhara, Ram Lalla and Sunni Waqf Board have challenged the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 verdict to bifurcate the 2.77 acres of disputed land equally among the three.
The hearing comes amid the Centre’s decision to file a petition in the Supreme Court to return over 67 acres of undisputed land to the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas. The land was acquired by the Centre after the demolition of the 15th-century Babri Masjid by kar sevaks in 1992.
Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has deferred its campaign for Ram Mandir till after the Lok Sabha elections. The outfit has said that it doesn’t wish to politicise the matter and allow any political party to take advantage of the issue in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
