NEW DELHI: Twenty-five years after the demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in December 1992, the Indian Supreme Court is set to begin final hearing on the case today (Tuesday), reported Hindustan Times.
A special three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, will commence the hearing at 1:30pm PST. The bench also comprises Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer.
The bench will hear the 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad high court in four civil suits.
The high court had ruled that the disputed 2.77-acre land should be divided three-way— between the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Hindu deity Ram Lalla.
However, the parties contesting the verdict, including the Uttar Pradesh government, will make their opening statements today.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had suggested an out-of-court settlement to the parties, however, the involved parties were not keen on it.
Recently a group of civil rights activists also moved the apex court seeking intervention in the Ayodhya dispute and urged it to consider the issue saying it is not just a dispute over property but has several aspects that would have far-reaching effects on the “secular fabric of the country”.
Since September 2010, over 20 appeals and cross-appeals have been filed in the SC without making any significant headway.
On April 19, India’s Supreme Court had restored criminal conspiracy charges against senior BJP leaders, including L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
A bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman pronounced the judgment and ordered the clubbing of separate trials being conducted in trial courts at Rae Bareli and Lucknow.
The bench ordered that a clubbed trial be conducted in the capital of Uttar Pradesh only, to be completed in two years.
It ruled that there will be no fresh trial because of the framing of conspiracy charges against senior BJP leaders. However, Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh, who enjoys Constitutional immunity, can be tried only after he ceases to hold the office.
Two sets of cases relating to the demolition of the disputed structure on December 6, 1992 were filed. The first set of cases involved unnamed 'karsevaks,' the trial of which is taking place in a Lucknow court, while the second set relates to the VVIPs in a Rae Bareli court.