Why Ram Lalla dispute case pending in SC for 10 years, questions Law Minister

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday batted for fast-track Ram Mandir case like Sabarimala.

"I would like to appeal as a citizen of this country that if judgement can be passed within six months in the crucial cases like adultery, Sabarimala, Urban Maoist then why not in Ram Lalla dispute case, which is pending from 70 years and for last 10 years in the Supreme Court," Prasad said while speaking at an event organised by the All India Lawyers Board in Lucknow.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up on January 4 the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case along with public interest litigation questioning delay in the adjudication of the matter.

The top court's bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will decide on "fixing the date of hearing before the appropriate bench".

In 2010, the Allahabad High Court said that the disputed site in Ayodhya should be divided into three parts, with two-thirds given to Hindus and one-third to Muslims.

In 2011 the Supreme Court suspended this ruling following the appeals by both Hindu and Muslim groups. Since then, at least 14 petitions have also challenged the ruling.

The apex court on September 27, while ruling on a separate case, remarked that the mosque was "not integral to Islam", a point that bolstered the demand for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site.