SC junks Ayodhya review petitions

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12

The Supreme Court today dismissed all 18 petitions seeking review of its November 9 Ayodhya land dispute case verdict that paved the way for construction of Ram Temple at the disputed site by giving the 2.77-acre site to Ram Lalla.

A five-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, that considered the review petitions during in-chamber proceedings this afternoon, rejected all.

The Bench, which included Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, didn’t find any merit in the review petitions. With regard to a petition filed by 40 activists, the top court said those who were not part of the Ayodhya case proceedings could not be allowed to file a review petition.

“We have carefully gone through the review petitions and the connected papers filed therewith. We do not find any ground, whatsoever, to entertain the same. The review petitions are, accordingly, dismissed,” the Bench said.

A five-judge Bench of then CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SA Bobde (current CJI), Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer had on November 9 given the 2.77-acre disputed land to Ram Lalla.

It had given five acres to Muslims at an alternative site in Ayodhya for construction of a new mosque.

Justice Khanna replaced Justice Gogoi on the Bench as the latter retired last month. As per general norms, hearing on review petitions is done through a procedure called “hearing by circulation” in chamber where parties are not represented by their advocates. In exceptional cases, review petitions are heard in open court and parties can be represented by their advocates. But the Bench chose to reject it at the outset.

There were 18 review petitions, including nine by parties who were part of earlier litigation. The rest nine are by “third parties”.

The first review petition in the matter was filed in the top court by Maulana Syed Ashhad Rashidi, legal heir of original litigant M Siddiq and Uttar Pradesh president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, on December 2. He contended “complete justice” could only be done by ordering reconstruction of the Babri Masjid.

While key litigant, Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Wakf Board, decided against challenging the verdict, Maulana Rashidi has sought review of the verdict on 14 counts.

Thereafter, Maulana Mufti Hasbullah, Maulana Mahfoozur Rehman, Mishbahuddin, Mohd Umar and Haji Nahboob — all supported by the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) — filed review petitions on December 6. They attacked the SC verdict on the ground that it sanctioned serious illegalities of destruction, criminal trespass and violation of rule of law that led to destruction of the mosque in 1992.

On December 9, two more review petitions were filed — one by the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha and the other by 40 persons, including rights activists, who have jointly moved the court seeking review of its verdict.

Mahasabha had sought limited review of the court’s November 9 direction to allot five-acre land to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for building a mosque in Ayodhya. It also sought deletion of findings declaring the disputed structure as a mosque. On Wednesday, Nirmohi Akhara also filed its review petition.

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