Ayodhya land dispute hearing live: Supreme Court fixes January 29 as next date of hearing

Ayodhya hearing: Supreme Court registry will need to give a report on by when will all documents be translated and the case be ready for hearing.

CJI says since Justice Lalit does not want to take part in case any further, the case hearing stands adjourned to January 29 when the five-judge bench will be reconstituted by substituting Justice Lalit with another SC judge

CJI says if Justice Lalit was not to take part further, then the hearing needs to be postponed. SC says Rajeev Dhavan pointed out that Justice Lalit had appeared in the Ayodhya criminal case in 1997.

Justice U U Lalit, when he was a lawyer had appeared for a party in the criminal case relating demolition of Babri Masjid, wants to recuse. CJI says all brother judges are of opinion that it would not be appropriate for him to take part in the hearing of Ayodhya land dispute.

When counsel for Muslim parties Rajeev Dhawan said he will start arguments, CJI Ranjan Gogoi asked - "start what? Today it is not listed for hearing. We will work out a schedule."

SC constitution bench says today the Ayodhya matter is listed for working out a hearing schedule and not for hearing to commence

Five judge constitution bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi assembles to hear Ram Mandir Babri Masjid dispute.

Tight security outside the Supreme Court ahead of Ayodhya hearing

In October 2010, Allahabad high court had divided the disputed land equally among three parties: Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Waqf Board. In May 2011, the Supreme Court stayed that verdict. There are 16 appeals and petitions by Hindu and Muslim parties challenging Allahabad high court's verdict which the top court will hear starting today.

The five-judge Constitution bench that will hear the case includes the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and four other judges who are in line to be CJIs after him. The bench does not include the two judges who had earlier heard the case. It is also for the first time that there is no minority judge in an SC bench hearing the Ayodhya case since it came to the top court in the 1980s.

CJI Ranjan Gogoi will demit office in November 2019, which implies that the case will have to be wound up by that date or else it will be reheard by another bench, effectively forcing the bench to have daily hearings to conclude the contentious case that has been lying with the apex court since 2010.

On September 27, SC had refused to place the issue before a Constitution bench and assigned it to a three-judge bench. Under court conventions, a smaller bench frames legal issues and sends it to a larger bench for consideration if it feels that the case so requires.

The plea for early hearing was moved by the Akhil BharatHindu Mahasabha (ABHM) which is one of the respondents in the appeal filed by legal heirs of M Siddiq, one of the original litigants in the case.

The dispute is about the ownership of over 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya, where the Babri Masjid stood since 1528 till its demolition on December 6, 1992; Ayodhya is believed to be the Ram Janmabhoomi. India has witnessed large-scale rioting and loss of lives because of polarisation over the issue in the last three decades.