Supreme Court to commence final hearing in Ayodhya case in February next

New Delhi: Amidst high drama and demand for deferring the hearing till July 2019 (after general elections), the Supreme Court on Tuesday posted for final hearing in February 2018 a batch of 13 appeals against an Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, granting 2/3rd of land to Hindus and 1/3rd to Muslims.

After a 90-minute preliminary hearing, a special Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer expressed “shock and surprise” at the request made by Kapil Sibal, appearing for Sunni Wakf Board that the appeals should be heard only after July 2019. The Bench, however, refused to defer the hearing.