In the Ayodhya case, the Supreme Court has asked various parties to submit their argument timelines so it can guess the time left to write the judgment

The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the counsels for both Hindu and Muslim parties in the Ayodhya case to inform it about the tentative “time schedule” for concluding their arguments. In the afternoon, the 5-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, re-assembled on the 25the day of the hearing and asked senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for Muslim parties, about the time schedule for conclusion of arguments saying it will enable it to know the time left for writing the judgment.

The CJI, who would demit office on November 17 this year, asked Dhavan to sit with his associates and inform the apex court about the number of days they will take to conclude the arguments. The bench, also comprising justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer, asked Dhavan to consult lawyers from other sides as well.

Dhavan, arguing for Sunni Waqf Board and others including original litigant M Siddiq on the 8th day, said he also wanted a judgment in this case and he would be very fast in advancing submissions. The top court said that if the schedule is known, “then we will know how much time we have to write the judgment”. The senior lawyer then said that the court may consider granting him a mid-week break this Friday. The bench said he may take the break, but the other counsel from the Muslim side can advance submissions on Friday.

“I do not want to break my argument,” Dhavan said, adding that they have a schedule and they are conscious of the speed of the arguments. The bench said Dhavan might be needing a break, but his “young team” was capable and would like to work hard.

As and when Ayodhya case was taken up Sunni Waqf Board’s advocates, Dhavan was coming out with so many demands, accusations in a bid to delay the process. In 2017, along with Kapil Sibal, Dhavan was throwing tantrums at the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

In the evening, Sunni Waqf Board wrote to the Mediation panel claiming that they are again considering mediation. This move is seen as a bid to delay the process.

(With PTI inputs)