The Supreme Court on Friday announced that hearing of the Ayodhya title dispute case would begin on January 10. Petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court order of 2010 on the Ayodhya dispute had been listed before the Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S.K. Kaul.
Chief Justice Gogoi is expected to constitute a three-member bench to hear the petitions on the Ayodhya title dispute. On October 29, 2018, the Supreme Court had adjourned hearings in the Ayodhya dispute, stating a date to begin hearings would be announced in January.
Following the Supreme Court's decision, rightwing groups and even sections within the BJP had demanded the Narendra Modi government enact an ordinance to fast-track construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. However, in an interview on New Year, Modi announced any ordinance would come after the Supreme Court's verdict on the matter.
In 2010, the Allahabad High Court had ordered partition of the disputed land in Ayodhya, totalling 2.77 acres among the three parties to the dispute: the deity Ram Lalla, the Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Waqf Board.
