Final Hearings On Ayodhya To Begin In Supreme Court On December 5

New Delhi: Whether a temple to Lord Ram can be built in Ayodhya at the site where the Babri Masjid was razed will be taken up by the Supreme Court at the end of the year. Judges today said they will start final hearings in the case on December 5 and have asked for all relevant documents to be translated by the Uttar Pradesh government into English within the next three months.

In 2010, the Allahabad High Court accepted that the disputed site of 2.77 acres was the birthplace of Lord Ram. It said two-thirds of the land should be allotted to two Hindu organisations, and the remainder to Muslims. While Hindus want to build a Ram Mandir or Ram temple, Muslims say they should be allowed to construct a new mosque.

Hindu organisations say that the Babri Masjid was built after a temple was destroyed on the spot where Lord Ram was born.

The 16th-century Babri mosque was razed to the ground in 1992 by thousands of right-wing volunteers or karsewaks. Top BJP leaders including LK Advani and senior minister Uma Bharti are being tried on charges of criminal conspiracy for the destruction of the mosque which was followed by deadly communal riots. They have denied any wrongdoing.

The Supreme Court suspended the High Court's verdict in 2011, but has yet to begin hearing appeals by the parties involved. In March, Chief Justice JS Khehar to negotiate a settlement out of court and offered his services as a mediator.

Earlier this week, Uttar Pradesh's Shia Waqf Board, which claims the land but is not a party to the title suit that was decided by the High Court, said the new mosque could be moved to a nearby neighbourhood where Muslims are in the majority. However, other Muslim organisations have not backed the offer. Sunnis form the majority of Muslims in India.

The BJP has said that it remains committed to building a temple but will follow the Supreme Court's orders.