Ayodhya Land Dispute: Supreme Court refuses urgent hearing saying appeals coming up in January

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an urgent hearing of the Ayodhya temple land dispute case and said it would be taken up in the first week January as was decided by it. The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha had petitioned the apex court to take up the Ayodhya case earlier than January.

"We have already passed the order. The appeals are coming up in January. Permission declined," Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said.

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On October 29, the Supreme Court had said that the case would be heard in January. "We have our own priorities," Chief Justice Gogoi had said, rejecting the Uttar Pradesh government's argument that it was a 100-year-old dispute that should be taken up on priority.

Disappointed with the order, leaders of the BJP and various Sangh Parivar outfits asked the Centre bring an Ordinance or legislation in the Winter session of Parliament for early construction of the Ram temple at the site, where the Babri Masjid once stood and was destroyed on December 6, 1994, in Ayodhya ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls without waiting for the Supreme Court verdict. 

"The Sangh believes that a Ram Temple should be constructed early at the birthplace of (Lord Ram) and should get land for temple construction at the birthplace. With the construction of the temple, an atmosphere of unity and harmony will be created," RSS chief spokesperson Arun Kumar had said in a statement. 

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"The Supreme Court should take an early decision and if there is any difficulty, the government should make a law to remove hurdles in the construction of the Ram temple to grant land at the Ram Janmabhoomi site," Kumar had added. 

The Shiv Sena had also stressed that the Ram temple is an issue of faith and demanded that the government come out with an Ordinance soon. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said a lot people in the country want the case to be heard quickly. 

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh had said Hindus are "running out of patience" on the Ram temple issue, while his party colleague Vinay Katiyar alleged that the issue was being delayed "under pressure" from the Congress, which denied the charge. 

"The decision is being delayed under pressure from the Congress. People like Kapil Sibal and Prashant Bhushan are pressing for delaying the issue. Till when will Ram bhakts (devotees) wait In 2019, the Congress will come to know," he had said. 

However, Congress and Muslim groups wanted all stakeholders to wait for the verdict. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, however, observed that it was a familiar story every five years before the elections when the BJP tries to polarise the issue. Opposing any ordinance, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaddudin Owaisi dared the government to take this route, saying the BJP refers to the Ram Temple again and again.

Some 14 petitions have challenged the Allahabad High Court's 2010 verdict partitioning the land into three, between the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla (infant Lord Ram, a party to the case).