RSS welcomes SC ruling on Ayodhya

The RSS welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on Ayodhya Thursday and expressed confidence that a just verdict on the case will be reached at the earliest.

"Today, the Supreme Court has decided to hold hearing on the Shri Rama Janmabhumi case from 29th October by a three member bench. We welcome this decision and are confident that a just verdict will be reached over the case at the earliest," the RSS said in a statement.

The Supreme Court has declined to refer to a five-judge Constitution bench the issue of reconsideration of the observations in its 1994 judgement that a mosque was not integral to Islam which had arisen during the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute.

In a majority verdict of 2:1, an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the civil suit has to be decided on the basis of evidence, adding that the previous verdict has no relevance on this issue.

The apex court said now the civil suit on land dispute will be heard by a newly constituted three-judge bench on October 29 as Justice Misra will retire on October 2 as the CJI.

The issue whether mosque is integral to Islam had cropped up when a three-judge bench headed by CJI Misra was hearing a batch of appeals filed against the Allahabad High Court's 2010 verdict by which the disputed land on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid area was divided into three parts.