Supreme Court Dismisses All Review Petitions Against Ayodhya Verdict In Favour Of Ram Temple

The recent order by the SC bench paves the way for implementation of the unanimous November 9 judgment that allocated the disputed site of 2.77-acre for the construction of Ram temple and granted separate five-acre land to Muslim parties.

A total of 18 review petitions were filed in the apex court in connection with its November 9 judgement. (File Photo/ Getty)

New Delhi: A five-judge bench of Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed all 18 review petitions filed against the top court's Ayodhya verdict over the land dispute case. A batch of petitions were filed seeking review of Supreme Court's November 9 Ayodhya land dispute case verdict, which cleared the way for construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site. The bench of judges headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, which took these review pleas for consideration in-chamber, however, rejected them after finding no merits. CJI Bobde along with Justices DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan, SA Nazeer and Sanjeev Khanna quashed the petitions. Justice Khanna was the only judge who was not a part of the five-judge Constitution bench that had delivered the historic verdict. Khanna was replaced by the then CJI Justice Ranjan Gogoi. The recent order by the SC bench paves the way for implementation of the unanimous November 9 judgment that allocated the disputed site of 2.77-acre for the construction of Ram temple and granted separate five-acre land to Muslim parties for the construction of mosque elsewhere in Ayodhya. The in-chamber review began at around 1:40 pm. by circulation of petitions. A total of 18 review petitions were filed in the apex court in connection with its November 9 judgement -- nine parties were part of the earlier litigation and the remaining have been filed by third parties. The bulk comprised review pleas from Muslim parties expressing discontent with the judgement.

Dismissal of the #Ayodhya review petitions by the hon #SupremeCourt is a welcome move. Country had already accepted the historic verdict paving way for a grand temple at #shriRam #Janmmbhumi #AYODHYAVERDICT https://t.co/kQOuohf5b6

— विनोद बंसल (@vinod_bansal) December 12, 2019

On Wednesday, the Nirmohi Akhara also filed a review seeking clarification on its role and extent of representation of Nirmohi Akhara in the trust directed to be created through the apex court judgement. "It is submitted the role of Nirmohi Akhara has not been spelt out with specificity which is necessary to rule out ambiguity and future disputes," said the Akhara in its review plea. The Akhara contends that the extent of its role is not spelt out in the direction and is instead left to the Central government. The Akhara also sought restoration of other temples outside the 2.77 acres disputed site. The first review plea was filed on December 2 in the top court by Maulana Syed Ashhad Rashidi, the Uttar Pradesh president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and legal heir of original litigant M Siddiq. On December 6, five petitions, supported by All India Muslim Personal Law Board, were also filed. The Peace Party of India also filed a review on the same day taking the total to six petitions. WATCH | Ayodhya Case: Muslim party's advocate explains the plea seeking review of SC order On December 9, a review was filed by the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha and the other filed by 40 persons, including academicians and activists who jointly petition the apex court seeking the review of its November 9 judgement. "The faith of one of the communities was consequently regarded higher than the other, thereby violating the secular principle embedded in the Constitution", said the petitioners. Rashidi sought review of the verdict on 14 counts. He said the verdict condoned the illegal acts and also sought an interim stay on the operation of it. The apex court had directed the Centre to form a trust within three months for construction of the temple at the site. The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha sought cancellation of the five-acre plot to Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque in Ayodhya. (With inputs from IANS)