Supreme Court defers hearing in Ram Janmabhoomi case to 10 January; CJI says 'appropriate bench' will pass further orders

The Supreme Court deferred the hearing of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case until 10 January on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_5534481” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Supreme Court of India. PTI[/caption] “Further orders will be passed by an appropriate bench on 10 January for fixing the date of hearing the matter,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice SK Kaul said. Friday’s hearing, which lasted for 60 seconds, did not see any arguments from either side, ANI reported. The apex court on 29 October had fixed the matter in the first week of January before an “appropriate bench”, which will decide the schedule of hearing. Later, an application was moved for according an urgent hearing by advancing the date, but the top court had refused the plea, saying it had already passed an order relating to the hearing on the matter. The plea for early hearing was moved by the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) which is one of the respondents in the appeal filed by legal heirs of M Siddiq, one of the original litigants in the case. Various Hindutva organisations have been demanding an ordinance for early construction of Ram temple at the disputed site. However, the government has taken the view that it would wait till the Supreme Court decides the matter. With inputs from PTI