Ending decades of uncertainty, Supreme Court to declare verdict on Ayodhya dispute at 10.30 AM on 9 November

November 8: Ending decades of uncertainty, The Supreme Court of India is final all set to declare the verdict on the Ayodhya dispute. The five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will declare the verdict on 9 November, 2019 at 10.30 AM. The other members of the bench are Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer.

Multi-layered security arrangements have been put in place in the temple town of Ayodhya, ahead of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case on Saturday. The town at the epicentre of the dispute has been turned into a fortress with the deployment of sixty companies (90-125 personnel each) of the PAC and paramilitary forces.

Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has also ordered the closure of all schools, colleges, educational institutions and training centres in the state from Saturday to Monday. Social media posts will be monitored to ensure that no attempt is made to vitiate the atmosphere by spreading fake or inflammatory content and necessary arrangements have been made to ensure safety and security of religious places.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Whatever decision the Supreme Court delivers in the Ayodhya case, it’ll not be a victory or defeat for anyone. My appeal to the countrymen is that it should be the priority of all of us that this decision should further strengthen the great tradition of peace,unity and goodwill of India.”

The BJP has reportedly scheduled a meeting of senior leaders at the Delhi headquarters on Saturday at 10.30 am, in view of the Supreme Court judgment in the Ayodhya land dispute, which is expected to be taken up in the apex court at the same time. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is expected to hold a press conference on the anticipated judgment of the Supreme Court in the politically sensitive Ayodhya land dispute case at 2.30 pm on Saturday.

The dispute over 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya, claimed by both Hindus and Muslims, has dominated political discourse since the 1980s. While Hindu activists want to build a temple on the site claiming it to be the birth place of Lord Rama, Muslim groups claim there is no proof that a temple existed there.