Ram Temple-Babri Masjid case: SC rejects plea for day-to-day hearing, questions Subramanian Swamy's locus standi

The Supreme Court will on Friday hear a petition seeking daily hearing in the controversial Ram Temple-Babri Masjid dispute.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to give early hearing to the Ram Temple-Babri Masjid case after litigants objected to BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy's role in the case.

As the matter came up before the apex court, it said, ''We didn't know that you (Dr Swamy) are a party to case".

The apex court also asked Subramanian Swamy to explain what is his locus standi in the case? We don't have time to hear you now, the top court said.

The firebrand BJP leader, who had filed the petition, had pleaded before the top court to hear the case on a day-to-day basis and pass an order favouring immediate construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The apex court had earlier described Ram temple as a ''sensitive and sentimental'' issue and called for an amicable settlement of the dispute by all concerned parties. 

On March 21, the apex court had suggested an out-of-court settlement in the highly vexed case.

The top court had set March 31 as the deadline for all the parties involved to present their stance on the issue.

While most of the parties, including VHP, RSS, BJP, have welcomed the court's suggestion, the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) had rejected the idea, saying time for amicable settlement of the issue is long over.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had also favoured daily hearing in Supreme Court over the Ayodhya temple dispute and said the case is about who has the title of the disputed land.

Owaisi also said he was waiting to see if "conspiracy charges" would be held against senior BJP leaders in the matter.

Asked if the issue can be resolved through out-of-court settlement, dialogue and mediation, he sought to reaffirm the position of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The Board, a party to the appeal in Supreme Court, had in their working committee taken a decision that there would be no more talks as earlier six attempts were not successful, and want the Court to hear the matter on a day-to-day basis.

The Allahabad High Court had ruled in 2010 that the disputed Ayodhya land be divided equally into three parts among Hindus and Muslims.

Meanwhile, the son of one of the main litigants in the Ram Temple-Babri Masjid land dispute has written to the Supreme Court raising objections to Swamy seeking urgent hearing in the case without informing all the parties concerned.

Mohammad Hashim Ansari's son has written to the Secretary General of the apex court that time and again the Rajya Sabha MP mentioned the matter before the Chief Justice of India without even informing the Advocate On Record including the lawyer who has been appearing for his father.

Ansari, one of the oldest litigant in the Ayodhya dispute, died in July last year at the age of 95. He was first to file the suit in the court of civil judge of Faizabad on the matter.