The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected all the 18 petitions that sought review of the landmark Ayodhya land dispute verdict of November 9. The petitions were heard by a five-member bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde. This hearing was an in-chamber one and not in an open court.
The November 9 verdict was pronounced by a five-member bench headed by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi – and said that the entire 2.77 acre disputed area of Ayodhya be given to Ram Lalla (the infant Lord Ram) and asked the Centre to offer five acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque.
Among the petitioners were the All India Muslims Personal Law Board and the Nirmohi Akhara. Also, 40 civil rights activists were denied permission to file review petitions by the court on the grounds that they were not parties to the original case.
In its petition, the Nirmohi Akhara – one of the original petitioners – said it was looking for clarifications on what its role should be. To this, the apex court asked the Centre to provide them “adequate representation” in the trust that will oversee the temple’s construction.
