SC cancels Jan 29 hearing in Ayodhya land dispute case

The Supreme Court Sunday cancelled the January 29 hearing in the politically sensitive Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid land title dispute case due to non-availability of one of the five judges of a Constitution bench.

Justice S A Bobde will not be available on January 29 due to which sitting of the Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi stands cancelled, as per a notice issued by the Supreme Court registry.

The five-judge bench was re-constituted on January 25, as Justice U U Lalit, who was a member of the original bench, had recused himself from hearing the matter.

When the new bench was constituted, Justice N V Ramana was also excluded from the re-constitution bench.

No reason was cited for the exclusion of Justice Ramana in the new Constitution bench.

Besides the CJI, the new bench comprises justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer.