Supreme Court to hear Ayodhya case on Thursday

The BJP will be especially interested in the hearing because building the Ram temple at Ayodhya was a promise the party had made before the 2014 general elections.

The other four judges in the bench are are Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.

According to media reports, the Constitution bench will hear 14 appeals challenging a 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict which divided 2.77-acre disputed Ayodhya land among Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara.

The apex court will decide whether Ram temple can be built in the same disputed land, where Babri Masjid stood till 1992.

Background of the case:

In 1992, the disputed Babri Masjid structure was brought down by several right-wing volunteers who believe Lord Ram was born on that site.

On Sept 27, the apex court had refused to re-visit its 1994 verdict which had stated mosque was not important for Muslims to offer prayers, paving way for the hearing of the Ayodhya case.

Modi wants to wait for verdict:

Though several right-wing organisations had demanded an ordinance be passed by the central government to construct Ram temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently said he will wait for the verdict to come.

Citing the government took action over triple talaq only after the top court verdict, Modi, in an interview with ANI, said: "I urge Congress people to allow the court proceedings to take place over the Ram temple case in the Supreme court. After the verdict comes, the government will initiate its action."

How the construction of Ram temple matters to BJP?

The verdict, if passed prior to 2019 General Elections, will be a boost for the BJP, whose political commitment was building the Ram temple in Ayodhya.