Babri Mosque case: Indian court to announce verdict by Nov 17

ALLAHABAD: The Supreme Court of India has reserved the verdict in the Babri Mosque case, which is likely to be announced by 17th November.

The five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, conducted marathon hearings over the past 40 days.

The bench has given parties three days to submit written submissions. The issue has been a source of communal discord, devouring millions of lives over more than a century in communal riots.

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The bench heard the case for 40 days. It was hearing appeals against the 30th September 2010 judgment of the Allahabad High Court.

The high court had ordered a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres land in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Hindu extremists destroyed the historic mosque in 1992 triggering massive riots in India. The violence left tens of hundreds of people dead.

For over a century, Hindus and Muslims have been in a tussle over the Babri mosque in Ayodhya in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Hindus claim the mosque was the birthplace of Lord Ram and was built after the destruction of a temple by Muslim invader Babur in 1528.

On the other hand, Muslims say they offered prayers at the mosque until December 1949, when some idols of Lord Ram were placed in the mosque.

British rulers fenced the area as early as 1859 to as a preemptive measure and the government of India locked its gates in 1949.

On 6th December 1992, the mosque was razed to the ground by a mob of thousands, triggering riots and violence that killed over 2,000 people in India.

Hindu and Muslim groups have failed to resolve the dispute through negotiations over the years, and a court decision in 2010 to divide the 2.77-acre site between one Muslim group and two Hindu groups was opposed by both sides.

The Supreme Court then took control of the site and heard petitions from both sides over what should be built there.