Ayodhya case: SC gives till Oct 18 for arguments

Verdict expected by mid-November, before CJI Gogoi’s retirement

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi clearly wants to deliver a verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case before he retires on November 17 and the bench headed by him that is hearing the case articulated its willingness to work weekends to do so even as it gave the petitioners room to settle the case through mediation.

On Wednesday, the five-judge bench headed by him that is hearing the case expressed hope that the hearing of the land dispute case would be over by October 18, as indicated in the schedule given by Hindu and Muslim parties to the case.

“Let us make a joint effort to conclude the hearing by October 18. If need be, the court could sit on Saturdays and even extend hearing in the case daily by an hour,” said the bench.

That will give the judges just under a month to write their judgement.

As many as 14 appeals were filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad high court verdict, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre plot of disputed land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the representatives of Ram Lalla, the child deity.

A large section of Hindus believes the 16th century mosque, Babri Masjid, in Ayodhya was built over a temple dedicated to Hindu god Ram, whose birthplace is also considered to be at the site. A mob of thousands demolished the mosque in December 1992, triggering a cycle of violence and riots across India.

On Tuesday, the five-judge Supreme Court bench asked the Hindu and Muslim parties to the case to give it a tentative schedule of their arguments in the case.

The court also reopened the possibility of mediation after it was brought to its notice that some parties to the case had written to the three-member mediation panel appointed by the top court earlier this year to settle the dispute .

The court said, “The hearing of the appeals, which are at a very advanced stage, will continue without any interruption. If, in the meantime, the parties desire to settle the matter(s), including, by resorting to mediation by the earlier constituted mediation panel, they may do so and place the settlement before the court, if reached.”

“We also make it clear that the terms and the process of settlement including mediation, if resorted to, will abide by our earlier order dated March, 8, 2019, with regard to confidentiality,” the bench said.

Earlier this week, the threemember panel approached the top court with a request from two of the 16 parties to the Ram Janmabhoomi–Babri Masjid land title dispute seeking that mediation efforts continue even as the constitution bench of the top court holds daily hearings in the title case.