NEW DELHI: All eyes will be on the Supreme Court on Saturday when the constitution bench will deliver the verdict in the decades-old Ramjanambhoomi Babri Masjid dispute case.
In a notification published on the website of the apex court, it was stated that a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi will pronounce the verdict on the 14 appeals which had been filed before the Supreme Court against the 2010 Allahabad high court judgment, which said the disputed 2.77 acres should be equally divided among the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
The decision of pronouncement comes hours after CJI along with others met UP Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to review the law and order situation in the state.
Chief Justice along with other four judges- CJI designate S A Bobde, Justices D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer met the officials in the chamber to ascertain the situation in Ayodhya before they pronounce the verdict. The meeting lasted for over one and a half hours.
The home ministry had also sent an advisory to all states to ensure that law and order is maintained.
The five-judge constitution bench, headed by the Chief Justice, started the day-to-day hearing in the Ayodhya land dispute case on August 6 after mediation between the Hindu and Muslim claimants failed.
The 40 days of hearing witnessed a lot of drama and finally ended on October 16. It is the second-longest hearing in the history of law. During the hearing, Nirmohi Akhara has sought directions to construct a Ram temple and wants the management rights of the premises to be given to them whereas Ram Lalla wants the entire disputed land to be given to them and no part of the land should be given to Muslim parties or Nirmohi Akhar. Sunni Waqf Board has demanded the Babri Masjid to be restored to its full form before it was destroyed on 6th December 1992.
The judgment has serious social and political implications as it will come just a couple of weeks before the 27th anniversary of demolition of Babri Masjid. Moreover, the judgement is likely to have an impact on assembly elections in Delhi and Bihar.
On 6 December 1992, Babri Masjid, a 16th-century mosque, was demolished by Hindu groups who want a Ram temple built at the site.