Ayodhya land dispute case: SC adjourns hearing till July 13

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing for the Babri Masjid-Ram Temple land dispute case. The case will be heard next on July 13.

Rajeev Dhawan, lawyer for one of the Muslim parties, today concluded his arguments in front of the three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

He said: “Mosques are not built for fun. Hundreds congregate there to offer prayers. Are they not an essential part of practice?”

The apex court is hearing the 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgment of the Allahabad High Court that mandated a three-way division of the disputed site in Ayodhya.

It earlier dismissed all the 32 intervention petitions, including applications of filmmakers Shyam Benegal and Aparna Sen, and journalist Teesta Setalvad, in the case.

During a hearing earlier, a bench, comprising of CJI Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer had directed the registry not to entertain any intervention application in the Ayodhya case.
The top court also rejected the intervention plea of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy in the matter.

On May 2, the Supreme Court even refused to give an urgent hearing to a mentioning by Swamy, seeking a direction to perform puja at the disputed site at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

The Babri Masjid, built by Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya in 1528, was, on December 6, 1992, demolished by Hindu Karsevaks, claiming that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a Ram temple that originally stood there. (ANI)