On January 10, a Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi will hear the title suit dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya.
This decision, posted on the Supreme Court website 48 hours prior to the case hearing, came as a bolt from the blue. At the case's last hearing on January 4, CJI adjourned it with an order that an appropriate bench will pass further orders on January 10. There was a proposal last year, after the historic press conference by four Supreme Court judges, that CJI and upcoming CJIs should be part of the constitution bench.
The present decision reverses SC's decision passed on September 27, 2018 — a three-judge bench, headed by former CJI Dipak Misra, rubbished demands by Muslim parties to refer the case to a Constitution Bench. By a 2:1 majority (CJI Misra and Justice Ashok Bhushan), the court directed the matter to be listed before a regular bench. The third judge, Justice S Abdul Nazeer, wanted the Ayodhya suit to be placed before a Constitution Bench.
The matter has been listed twice since that judgment before the present CJI Ranjan Gogoi — October 29, 2018, and January 4, 2019. On each occasion, the hearing was not taken up and an order was issued to list the matter before the appropriate bench. The latest circular has ended the suspense with the appropriate bench being defined as the Constitution Bench. Besides CJI, the Constitution Bench will comprise Justices SA Bobde, NV Ramana, UU Lalit and DY Chandrachud.
The bench composition, a decision taken by the CJI as the 'master of roster', has one common thread — those chosen are all successive Chief Justices of India.
Going by the seniority and tenure of these judges as per the court's website, CJI Gogoi will retire on November 17, 2019, following which Justice Bobde is likely to take over and remain at the post till April 23, 2021. Justice Ramana is next in line and will remain CJI till August 26, 2022. Justice Lalit is likely to replace him as CJI, as per seniority, and continue to wield the gavel till November 8, 2022. The last judge, DY Chandrachud, is expected to have a two-year tenure at the top post of the judiciary, ending on November 10, 2024.
Appeals in the Ayodhya title suit have been pending in the apex court since 2011. They followed a September 2010 judgment by the Allahabad High Court which divided the disputed 2.77-acre land equally between the Sunni Central Waqf Board, the Ram Lalla and the Nirmohi Akhara.
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