No early hearing of Ayodhya title case

Top court says matter already listed for hearing in Jan

New Delhi, November 12

The Supreme Court on Monday declined early hearing of the petitions in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case, saying it has already listed them in January next year.

The SC on October 29 had fixed the case for the first week of January before an “appropriate Bench”, which will decide the schedule of hearing. “We have already passed the order. The appeals are coming up in January. Permission declined,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice SK Kaul said while rejecting the request of early hearing the cases.

The plea for early hearing was mentioned by lawyer Barun Kumar Sinha, representing Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) which is one of the respondents in the appeal filed by legal heirs of M Siddiq in the case. “Ram Janmabhoomi is the matter of tremendous faith of Hindus and they are very much hopeful about the decision at an early date of the aforesaid appeals,” the ABHM said.

The case is of great concern for both Hindus and Muslims of the country and the pendency of these cases have earlier caused communal disharmony, it said.

A three-judge SC Bench had on October 29, by a 2:1 majority, refused to refer to a five-judge constitution Bench the issue of reconsideration of the observations in its 1994 judgment of the Allahabad HC that a mosque was not integral to Islam. — PTI