SC Constitution Bench to hear Ayodhya case on Jan 10

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi will hear the Ayodhya case on January 10.

The constitution bench comprises of Justice SA Bobde, Justice NV Ramana, Justice UU Lalit and Justice DY Chandrachud.

The dispute is over 2.7 acres of land in Ayodhya on which the Babri Masjid stood until it was razed on December 6, 1992, allegedly by some Kar Sevaks.

In 2010, the Allahabad High Court had divided the disputed land into three parts for each of the parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

In September last year, the Supreme Court refused to reconsider its observations in a separate, 1994 judgement, stating that a mosque was not integral to Islam. The issue came up during the hearing of the Ayodhya case.

In November, the top court rejected the Uttar Pradesh government's appeal for an early hearing of the 14 petitions in the case. "We have our own priorities. Whether hearing would take place in January, March or April would be decided by an appropriate bench," the court said.

Despite pressure from NDA ally Shiv Sena and various groups, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his interview with ANI last week, had said that the government is waiting for a legal resolution in the matter.