SC asks all parties in Ayodhya case to conclude final arguments by October 18

The top court added that an hour-long additional hearing will be held every day and on every Saturday.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Wednesday (September 18) asked all parties involved in the Ayodhya land dispute case to try to complete their arguments by October 18. If required, an hour-long additional hearing will be held every day and on every Saturday.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi-led top court bench said it has received mediation proposal letter and if parties want to reach a settlement through mutual negotiations, then the same must conveyed to it. However, the mediation settlement will be kept confidential if such a scenario arises.

Reflecting that the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir mediation process has come a long way, the Supreme Court said that the hearing will not be stopped. 

The apex court's statements came on the 26th day of hearing on Wednesday (September 18). The hearing began on August 6. CJI Gogoi is set to retire on November 17. If the final arguments are concluded by October 18, then he'll get four weeks to finish the judgment.

On Tuesday (September 17), the five-member constitutional bench hearing the Ayodhya case had asked all parties to set a final dateline for concluding arguments.

Responding to this on Wednesday (September 18), the counsel for Ramlala said that it will respond within the next two days while Nirmohi Akhara did not present any timeline. The Sunni Waqf Board said that it will respond to other parties' within 1.5 days of their argument presentation and complete the debate by the end of next week (September 29).

Fourteen appeals have been filed in the top court against the Allahabad High Court order, which partitioned the 2.77-acre disputed land equally among Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.