Supreme Court Cancels Jan. 29 Hearing In Ayodhya Land Dispute Case

The Supreme Court on Sunday cancelled the Jan. 29 hearing in the politically sensitive Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid land title dispute case due to non-availability of one of the five judges of a Constitution bench.

Justice SA Bobde will not be available on Jan. 29 due to which sitting of the Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi stands cancelled, as per a notice issued by the Supreme Court registry.

The five-judge bench was re-constituted on Jan. 25, as Justice UU Lalit, who was a member of the original bench, had recused himself from hearing the matter.

When the new bench was constituted, Justice NV Ramana was also excluded from the re-constitution bench. No reason was cited for the exclusion of Justice Ramana in the new Constitution bench.

Besides the CJI, the new bench comprises justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and SA Nazeer.