Timeline: Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute

Supreme Court to hear Ayodhya title dispute case from February 8

The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to hear the civil appeals filed by various parties challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute on February 8.

Dome to doom

1528: Mughal emperor Babur constructs a mosque and it is named Babri  

December 23, 1949: Lord Ram's idols are planted inside the central dome. Both sides file court cases; the site is locked 

December 17, 1959:  The Nirmohi Akhara files a suit seeking possession of the site and claims to be the custodians of the disputed land   

December 18, 1961: The Sunni Central Board of Waqf files a suit claiming ownership of the site   

1984: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) launches a campaign for the construction of the Ram temple at the Janmabhoomi site

February 1, 1986:  Faizabad district court orders the gates of the mosque be opened and Hindus be allowed to worship there. Muslims protest the move and forms Babri Mosque Action Committee  

November 9, 1989: VHP lays the foundation of a Ram temple on land next to the Babri Masjid following permission from the then Rajiv Gandhi government  

September 25, 1990: Then BJP President L K Advani launches his Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya. He is arrested in Bihar’s Samastipur in November  

December 6, 1992: The disputed Babri Mosque is razed to the ground by kar sevaks 

April 2002: Three-judge Bench of high court begins hearing to determine the ownership of land. The HC orders the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the site to determine if it was a temple earlier.   

2003: ASI finds evidence of the presence of a temple under the mosque. Muslim organisations dispute the findings  

September 30, 2010: The HC rules the disputed land be divided into three parts — one-third to Ram Lalla Virajman, represented by the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha; one-third to the Sunni Waqf Board; and the remaining to the Nirmohi Akhara. In December, the parties move the SC

May 2011:  The SC stays the HC order  

March 2017: The Supreme Court says charges against Advani and other leaders cannot be dropped in the demolition case and that the case may be revived  

March 21, 2017: The SC says the matter is sensitive and suggests it be settled out of court. It asks stakeholders to hold talks and find an amicable solution  

May 30, 2017: Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar charged with criminal conspiracy in the demolition case  

August 11, 2017:  The SC schedules hearing of 13 appeals in the title dispute on December 5, 2017, coinciding with the eve of the 25th anniversary of the desecration of the Babri mosque

Dec 5, 2017:  The SC says it will hear the civil appeals filed by various parties challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict on February 8