New Delhi: As the Supreme Court reopens on November 4, after a week-long Diwali vacation, all eyes are set on long-awaited Ayodhya judgment on the ownership of the Ram Janma-bhoomi-Babri Masjid disputed site that would be pronounced any day in the coming eight working days starting with November 4 to November 15.
The Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Chief Justice designate S.A. Bobde, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer have eight working days — five days from Monday to Friday (November 4 to 8) and three days of the subsequent week to pronounce their much awaited verdict. November 11 and 12 are holidays on account of Guru Nanak’s birthday and another holiday.
The Constitution bench had on October 16 reserved its verdict on a batch of cross petitions challenging September 30, 2010, an Allahabad High Court judgment which trifurcated the disputed site.
Besides the Ayodhya dispute, two more long awaited verdicts — on the plea seeking the review of top court judgment giving clean chit to the Centre on the purchase of 36 ready to fly Rafale fighter jets and permitting the entry of women of all age groups in Kerala’s Sabrimala temple — too are likely to be pronounced.
The verdict on the plea seeking the review and recall of December 14, 2018 Rafale judgment giving clean chit to the government in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets in ready to fly condition was reserved on May 10, 2019.
Another long-awaited judgment is on the pleas seeking the review of judgment opening the Sabrimala temple to the women of all age groups.
Another important judgment that would be pronounced is on the plea seeking to bring in public domain the decision-making process leading to the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary, including disclosure of correspondence exchanged between the CJI and the Union law ministry in the course of the appointment of judges.
All the four judgments have to be pronounced by November 15 as Gogoi headed the benches that heard these petitions.
Though Gogoi is retiring on November 17, November 15 would be his last working day as the court would shut on November 16 and 17 for weekend.
