Ram temple issue: SC dismisses Swamy's plea seeking early hearing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking early hearing on the Ram temple issue.

The apex court said the intervener cannot move for early hearing, adding that it would hear the matter once the parties agree for a date.

The apex court had in February permitted Swamy to intervene in the appeals pending in the Ayodhya Ram Mandir title suits in which status quo has been ordered to be maintained.

In his petition, Swami had earlier urged the apex court to allow the Hindus to rebuild the temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya. He stated that the disputed mosque in Ayodhya could be shifted to some place across river Saryu and the Lord Ram temple be constructed at the disputed site.

In response, the court said that this issue would be listed before the bench, which is already hearing matters regarding the Ram temple-Babri Masjid row.

Swamy had earlier claimed that work on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya could start before the end of this year and expressed confidence that the apex court's verdict would pave way for the construction of the temple.