A journey from the Babri Masjid to the Ram Mandir

Eventful journey with timelines

Thursday, 6th August 2020

PM Narendra Modi will be laying the proposed Ayodhya Ram Mandir’s foundation stone today through a brief ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ ritual. The event will signal the start of construction work of a lavish Ram temple in Ayodhya. Last year in the month of November the Supreme Court of India directed the Central government to allot a 5-acre piece of land for construction of a new Masjid at a renowned place in Uttar Pradesh’s holy town thereby facilitating the building of a Ram mandir at the most disputed ground of Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid was demolished years back.

Chronology of Events related to the site of the Rama temple in Ayodhya

1. -1528: Babri Masjid was constructed by Mughal emperor Babur’s commander Mir Baqi
2. 1885: Mahant Raghubir Das’s plea to get permission for building a canopy in the outer part of the disputed Masjid structure was rejected by the Faizabad district court
3. - 1949:  Ram Lalla idols were installed under the disputed structure’s central dome
4. - 1950: Gopal Simla Visharad files a legal suit in the Faizabad district court for the rights to worshipping the Ram Lalla idols.
5. - Paramahansa Ramachandra Das too files a legal suit for the continuation of the worship and for keeping and maintaining the idols.
6. - 1959: Nirmohi Akhara files a legal suit asking for the site’s possession.
7. - 1961: Sunni Central Waqf Board of UP files a legal suit for the site’s possession.
8. - Feb 1, 1986: Government is ordered by the Local court to throw open the site for the worshippers from the Hindu religious community
9. - Aug 14, 1989: Allahabad High Court orders the maintenance of the status quo regarding the disputed temple structure.
10. - Dec 6, 1992: Demolition of Babri Masjid.
11. - Apr 3, 1993: An act referred to as the 'Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya’ was passed for the acquisition of land by the Centre in that disputed area.
12. - Multiple written petitions, including a petition by Ismail Faruqui, were filed at the Allahabad High Court in order to challenge the Act’s multiple aspects.
13. - Supreme Court exercised its jurisdiction under the Article 139A thereby transferring the written petitions, which were in pending status at the High Court.
14. - Oct 24, 1994: Supreme Court stated in the historic case related to Ismail Faruqui that the mosque wasn’t integral to the Islamic community.
15. - Apr, 2002: High Court started hearing on the disputed site and its ownership
16. - Mar 13, 2003: Supreme Court said, with regard to the Aslam alias Bhure case, that no religious functions or activities of any kind  be permitted at the piece of land that has been acquired.
17. - Sep 30, 2010: High Court, in a majority ratio of 2:1, governed the disputed area’s 3-way division between the Sunni Waqf Board, Ram Lalla and the Nirmohi Akhara
18. - May 9, 2011: Supreme Court stayed the High Court order on the dispute regarding the Ayodhya land.
19. - Mar 21, 2017: CJI JS Khehar advised an out-of-court settlement amongst the rival groups.
20. - Aug 7: Supreme Court formed the three-judge bench for hearing the pleas challenging the year1994 Allahabad High Court verdict.- Feb 8, 2018: Supreme Court started hearing the appeals under the civil section.
21. - Jul 20: Supreme Court reserves the verdict.
22. - Sep 27: Supreme Court refused to refer this case to a legal five-judge Constitutional bench. The hearing of the case was to be conducted in presence of a three-judge law bench on the October 29.
23. -Oct 29: Supreme Court scheduled the legal case for January first week in the presence of an ideal bench, which would determine the hearing schedule.
24. - Dec 24: Supreme Court took the decision to undertake the petitions on the case for the hearing on the 4th of January
25. -Jan 4, 2019: Supreme Court said an ideal legal bench formed by it would pass a legal order on the 10th of January for the purpose of fixing the hearing date in this title case.
26. -Jan 8: Supreme Court formed a 5-judge bench for the purpose of hearing of the case that was headed by Ranjan Gogoi, the Chief Justice .  The bench consisted of the other justices like DY Chandrachud, NV Ramana, SA Bobde and UU Lalit.
27. - Jan 10: Justice U.U Lalit reclused himself thereby prompting the Supreme Court to reschedule hearing in the presence of a new legal bench for the 29th of January.
28. - Jan 25: A new 5-member Bench is formed by the Supreme Court and this time the new members are Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi as head and the other Justices like S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, SA Nazeer and Ashok Bhushan.
29. - Jan 29: Centre moved the Supreme Court seeking consent for giving back the acquired land lying in vicinity to the disputed site and sprawling across 67-acres to its original owners
30. - Feb 26: Supreme Court preferred mediation in this case and fixed the date of Mar 5 for the order on whether or not to refer this case to a court-hired mediator.
31. - Mar 8: Supreme Court refers this dispute for mediation by F M I Kallifulla headed panel.
32. - Apr 9: The plea related to the return of the acquired land to its owners made by Supreme Court Centre met with opposition from the Nirmohi Akhara.
33. - May 9: Interim report submitted at the Supreme Court by a mediation committee of 3 members
34. - May 10: Supreme Court extended the time span till the 15th of August to get the entire mediation process done.
35. - Jul 11: Supreme Court seeks the progress report of the mediation process- Jul 18: Supreme Court allows the mediation process to go on seeking, the outcome report by the 1st of August
36. - Aug 1: Supreme Court receives the mediation report in a sealed cover.- Aug 2: Supreme Court decided to hold day-to day hearing from the 6th of August as the mediation fails.
37. - Aug 6: Supreme Court started the hearing on land dispute on a day-to-day basis
38. - Oct 4: Supreme Court said it will be wrapping up the hearing on the 17th of October and the judgment by the 17th of November.
39. - Supreme Court directs the UP government to offer security to the chairperson of the state Waqf Board.
40. - Oct 16: Supreme Court ended the hearing and reserved the order.
41. - Nov 9: Supreme Court granted the total 2.77 acres of disputed ground in the holy town of Ayodhya to the deity of Ram Lalla, possession of the land was to remain with the government receiver at the Centre. Supreme Court also directed the Centre as well as UP governments to allot land of 5 acres to the Muslim community at an important location for the purpose of building a mosque.

Source: Indian Express