Declining to refer the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid land dispute to a larger Constitutional Bench, the Supreme Court said that it would begin hearing of Ayodhya matter from October 29, 2018 in order to decide the case on merit, according to a ANI report.

While announcing its verdict on the issue of reference of Ram Mandir-Babri case to a larger Bench, the SC held that all religions and religious places need to be equally respected, Ashoka’s Edicts preach tolerance to faith of others”, Justice Ashok Bhushan said, while reading out the verdict.

The SC pronounced this decision on the limited aspect of whether the law laid down by the SC in its 1994 judgement in Ismail Faruqui case should be revisited by a Constitutional Bench. The court heard arguments on whether the 1994 Ismail Faruqui judgement should be referred to a larger bench and if it involves constitutional questions, noted the report

Justice Bhushan was of the opinion that there were two opinions on the matter – one by himself and CJI Dipak Misra and another by Justice S. Abdul Nazeer. While Justice Bhushan and Misra said no exception can be taken to 1994 observations, Justice Nazeer dissented from majority verdict and said a larger bench needs to decide what constitutes essential religious practice. In 1994, a five-judge Constitution Bench had held that namaz could be offered anywhere and that a mosque was not an essential part of the practice o the religion of Islam. In the Ismail Faruqui judgement, the SC had held that while offering of prayer or worship is a religious practice, offering prayer at every location where such prayers can be offered would not be an essential or integral part of such religious practice unless the place has a particular significance for that religion so as to form an essential or integral part thereof, the report pointed out.

A Bench of Chief Justice Misra and Justices Bhushan and Nazeer heard the case. On July 20, a three-judge bench of the SC reserved their judgement on the issue. The Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid case is pending before the SC for the last eight years since 2010, Alahabad High Court decision ruling for a three-way bifurcation of the disputed 2.77 acres of land was challenged in the SC by involved parties, the report added.