Ayodhya Dispute: SC Rejects Advocate’s Submission, Says Hearing to go on 5 Days of Week

The apex court said, "Hearing in the case would be for five days, from Monday to Friday." Earlier, the court had assured Dhavan, "We have heard your grievance, we’ll inform you soon."

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected submissions of senior advocate Dr Rajiv Dhavan representing one of the Muslim parties in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case that hearing should not be for five days.

The apex court said, “Hearing in the case would be for five days, from Monday to Friday.” Earlier, the court had assured Dhavan, “We have heard your grievance, we’ll inform you soon.”

Dhavan had told the court that he would not be able to assist the court in this manner, adding that he would leave the case if this continued. “If the hearing is five-days a week then it’s inhuman & we won’t be able to assist the court. Hearing can’t be rushed through. I’ll be forced to leave this case,” he had said.

On Tuesday, the apex court had rejected the request of KN Govindacharya for live streaming as well as audio or video recording of the case.

The daily hearing of the case is being conducted by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. On August 2, the bench had taken note of how the mediation proceedings had not led to any consensus.

The dispute involves a 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya where stood a 16th-century mosque, known to have been built by Mughal emperor Babur, that was demolished in 1992. Fourteen appeals are pending before the Supreme Court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict which had ordered an equal division of the disputed land among the three parties.