The Supreme Court on Friday said a plea seeking live telecast or recording of the hearing in the Ayodhya land dispute case be listed before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by the CJI is hearing the Ayodhya land dispute case.
The plea, filed by former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya seeking live streaming of the Ayodhya case proceedings, came up before a bench of justices RF Nariman and Surya Kant. If the live streaming option does not seem viable to the court, the plea has asked the apex court to at least prepare the transcripts of the proceedings.
The bench after hearing the brief submission of senior advocate Vikas Singh, who was representing K N Govindacharya, said the matter should come up for hearing before a bench presided over by the CJI. The Court, said,”this is a very sensitive matter, and we would request Chief Justice of India (CJI) to decide on this matter. We would request the CJI to hear the matter on September 11, Wednesday.”
This is not the first time that the RSS member has made this request. Last month, when the top court begun its day-to-day hearing on the case, it turned down former BJP leader’s plea seeking live streaming or audio/video recording of the day-to-day proceedings in the case. The bench comprising Justices SA Bobde and BR Gavai had said, “We don’t know if we have equipment for live streaming or recording of proceedings.”
The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute involves 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya, where a 16th Century mosque allegedly built by Mughal emperor Babur stood. In December 1992, the mosque was demolished by Hindu activists who believed that it was built on the ruins of a temple that marked the birthplace of Lord Ram. The incident sparked riots across the country leading to death of almost 2,000 people.