New Delhi, October 29: The Supreme Court is likely to commence hearing on a cluth of petition challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict trifurcating the disputed site at Ayodhya into three parts for Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara and the original Muslim litigant today. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph would hear the matter.

On September 27, a bench of then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer had refused to refer the matter to a five-judge bench and held that a new constituted bench will commence hearing from October 29 on a batch of petitions filed by both the sides -- Hindu and Muslim stakeholders.  The apex court had also refused reconsideration of a 1994 ruling by a five-judge bench of the apex court which had held that mosque was not an essential part of Islam to offer namaz.

"We again make it clear that questionable observations made in the Ismail Faruqui's case ... were made in the context of land acquisition. Those observations were neither relevant for deciding the suits nor relevant for deciding these appeals," the majority judgement had said. In his minority judgement, Justice Nazeer had said that the "questionable" observations in the Ismail Faruqui ruling were arrived at without undertaking a comprehensive examination. Ayodhya Case: Senior Counsel Rajeev Dhawan Sparks Controversy, Says 'Babri Masjid Was Destroyed By Hindu Taliban'.

On Monday, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will decide the composition of the three-judge bench that will start hearing on the petition challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict. Justices Bhushan and Nazeer are most likely to be part of the bench. The Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid case is pending before the Supreme Court for the last eight years since the 2010.

In 2010, Allahabad High Court ruled a verdict that divided the disputed Ayodhya land equally among three parties, the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 29, 2018 12:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).