Date For Ramjanambhoomi Case Set For March 14

On February 8, the hearing on the Ramjanambhoomi or Babri Masjid case was examined. The Special Bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra took stock of the case and its progress, finally setting the date for March 14. Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan appearing for M. Siddique the Appellant, insisted that the case be heard by a Constitution Bench on a day-to-day basis. He stressed that the case should be heard at a stretch and not have long breaks in between hearings. The respondents in the case have filed 504 exhibits before the Court. The appellants have filed relevant documents and however, video recordings and some other pieces of evidence have not yet been filed.

There was a heated exchange between Dhavan and C. S. Vaidyanathan who proposed that the parties should submit a synopsis of their arguments to the Bench and exchange them with each other. Dhavan retorted stating that his case contained 12 issues each with many propositions. He further stated that either the Court has faith in the senior members of the bar or it does not. The Order passed by the Court has allowed for all the documents and relevant evidence to be filed with a deadline of two weeks. The Order further stressed that all the Orders passed by it and by the Allahabad High Court will continue to be in effect during the pendency.

Rajeev Dhavan had almost retired from service following disagreements with the CJI Dipak Misra over the Ramjanambhoomi case and the Delhi Government v Lt. Governor case. However, he later withdrew his resignation stating that he still had a duty to perform. He did mention that there “are some things fundamentally wrong with the court and its functioning”, but reiterated that he retains his faith in the rule of law.