SC deferred Ayodhya case till January 29, 2019 on Thursday (File image) | Photo Credit: BCCL

New Delhi: In a fresh development in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case, RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya wrote to the Cabinet Secretary on Thursday, demanding for the Ayodhya case in the Supreme Court to be “live-streamed”. This comes after the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the reconstitution of the bench hearing the case and set a new date of hearing following Justice UU Lalit’s recusal from the case.

The new date of hearing for the case is January 29, 2019. A five-judge bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi was supposed to hear 14 pleas challenging the 2010 verdict of Allahabad High Court, which ruled that the disputed land should be divided into three parts between Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara Dal, and the Sunni Waqf Board.

However, the hearing was deferred till January 29, 2019, as Justice Lalit recused himself from the case after petitioners pointed out a conflict of interest. The other judges on the bench are justices SA Bobde, NV Ramana and DY Chandrachud. The decision to defer the hearing in the case did not go down well with many Hindu outfits who alleged that this was a “ploy” to “stall” the hearings in the case. Ayodhya Ram Mandir land dispute hearing: Supreme Court defers Ayodhya case matter to January 29

​Meanwhile, the letter by the RSS ideologue to the Cabinet Secretary was also addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. In the letter, ideologue Govindacharya urged the Prime Minister to consult the Supreme Court and initiate steps to ensure that the important and sensitive case of Ayodhya dispute is ‘live-streamed’.

If the court accepts the proposal, the Ayodhya case could become the first Supreme Court case in the country to be ‘live-streamed’.

Notably, on 26 September 2018, the Supreme Court had allowed the live streaming and video recording of court proceedings in public interest, saying, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” Delivering the judgment, the top court bench, headed by then CJI Dipak Misra and consisting of Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, had said that live streaming of court proceedings would help bring in greater transparency in judicial proceedings.

