Plea in SC seeks verification of Ram temple site against 2019 verdict

• Petition seeks an independent survey to establish whether the Ram temple stands on the land covered by the Supreme Court’s 2019 verdict

• Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Case Trust’s plea is listed for hearing on 2 November

• Other requests include preservation of land records, improved facilities for devotees and greater transparency in donations

A petition filed in the Supreme Court has sought an independent examination to establish whether the Ram temple in Ayodhya has been built on the precise land covered by the court’s November 2019 judgment.

Filed by Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Case Trust, the petition seeks a court-appointed committee or commission to verify the location of the temple against the premises adjudicated in the verdict. It has requested an independent survey to identify the land’s boundaries, coordinates, area and location.

According to the cause list published on the Supreme Court’s website, the matter is scheduled to be heard on 2 November by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.

The petitioner has proposed that the committee include experts in surveying, revenue records, archaeology and other technical fields, as considered appropriate by the court.

It has also sought further directions if the verification reveals any material difference between the land covered by the judgment and the site on which the temple has been constructed. Such directions, the petition says, should ensure faithful implementation of the 2019 verdict.

The petition’s request for verification does not establish that any discrepancy exists.

To support the proposed exercise, the petitioner has asked the court to direct the authorities concerned and the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to preserve and submit original documents relating to the temple premises. These include maps, plans, surveys and records concerning the identification, demarcation and development of the site.

The petition also raises issues concerning facilities for devotees visiting Ayodhya from India and abroad. It seeks directions for the construction of amenities, alongside measures to strengthen transparency in the handling of donations and offerings.

Among its financial oversight requests are daily digitisation and continuous display of donations, offerings and receipts, as well as an annual audit of accounts by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The petitioner has sought these measures to prevent misappropriation.

On 9 November 2019, a five-judge Constitution bench delivered a unanimous judgment that cleared the way for a trust to construct the Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

The court ruled that the 2.77-acre disputed parcel, where the Babri Masjid had stood, would remain under a central government receiver before being transferred to a trust to be constituted within three months. It separately directed the Centre to provide the Sunni Waqf Board with an alternative five-acre plot at a prominent location in Ayodhya for a mosque.

The judgment decided 14 appeals challenging the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 ruling in four civil suits. The high court had ordered an equal division of the disputed land among the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

The 16th-century Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindu kar sevaks on 6 December 1992, triggering communal riots.

With PTI inputs