SC sets up five-judge Consitution Bench to hear Ayodhya case

The Constitution Bench is planned to hear the issue on January 10. 

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 8, 2018, set up a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid arrive title question case. The seat would be going by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and contain Justices S.A. Bobde, N.V. Ramana, U.U. Lalit and D.Y. Chandrachud. 

The case deals with the controversial issue of setting up a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya at a site believed to have been the birthplace of lord Ram. The Babri Masjid stood on the disputed site and was controversially demolished in 1992 by 'kar sevaks'. The demolition led to nationwide riots.

The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title case is about who owns the controversial land where Babri Masjid once stood and where lord Ram is believed to have been born.

In 2010, the Allahabad High Court had divided the land between three petitioners -- two of them favoured building a Ram Mandir at the Ayodhya site while the third wanted the Babri Masjid rebuilt.

All the petitioners appealed the Allahabad High Court verdict. The Supreme Court will now begin hearing those appeals.

The Ayodhya case has a strong religious and political link -- before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, which brought Narendra Modi to power, the Bharatiya Janata Party had promised it would build a grand Ram temple at the Ayodhya site.

The Modi government has said that it will wait for the judicial processes to get over.