Supreme Court defers hearing in Ayodhya dispute to January

Hindus running out of patience, Union Minister Singh says

India’s Supreme Court yesterday deferred, to the first week of January 2019, hearings in the Ayodhya land cases.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said an appropriate bench will decide the future course of hearings in January next year on the appeals filed against the Allahabad High Court verdict.

“We have other priorities,” Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said adding an “appropriate court bench” would decide when to take up daily hearings in January. The top court rejected Uttar Pradesh solicitor-general Tushar Mehta’s request for a hearing in November.

“We understand the nature of the dispute. We will fix the date of hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute case before the appropriate bench in January,” Gogoi said.

Several petitions have challenged the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 order, partitioning the land among three parties.

Reacting to the verdict, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said “Hindus are running out of patience” on the Ayodhya matter.

“Congress has decided to make it a Hindu-Muslim issue. [Deity] Shri Ram is the cornerstone of faith of the Hindus. Hindus are running out of patience. I fear what will happen if Hindus lose patience,” Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Singh said.

Meanwhile, hardline Hindu outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) urged the government to enact a law to ensure the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site. But All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi dared the BJP to introduce such legislation allowing the construction.

“Everyone needs to respect the wisdom and decisions of the Supreme Court. The country does not run on what BJP leaders say, it runs as per the provisions of the Constitution,” Owaisi said.