New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Saturday cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. In one of the most important and most anticipated judgements in India’s history, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi put an end to the more than a century old dispute that has torn the social fabric of the nation. The apex court said the mosque should be constructed at a “prominent site” and a trust should be formed within three months for the construction of the temple at the site many Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.
The site was occupied by the 16th century Babri mosque which was destroyed by Hindu kar sevaks on December 6, 1992.
Ayodhya Case: A look at the five judges who pronounced the verdict
Justice Gogoi took over as the 46th CJI of India in March, 2018. Born on November 18, 1954, Gogoi was enrolled as an advocate in 1978. He practised in the Gauhati high court on constitutional, taxation and company matters. He was appointed as a permanent judge of the Gauhati high court on February 28, 2001. On September 9, 2010, he was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana high court. He was appointed as Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana high court on February 12, 2011 and then a judge of the Supreme Court on April 23, 2012.
President Ram Nath Kovind last month signed the warrant appointing Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde as the next Chief Justice of India. He will take oath as the new Chief Justice of India on November 18. Born on April 24, 1955 in a family of lawyers in Maharashtra’s Nagour, the 63-year old studied in Nagour University. His father Arvind Bobde was the advocate-general of Maharashtra and his elder brother late Vinod Arvind Bobde a renowned senior advocate of the Supreme Court. Bobde’s term as Chief Justice of India will end on April 23, 2021.
Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud was born in 1959 and is the son of YV Chandrachud, the longest-serving Chief Justice of India. He completed his LLB from Delhi University and went to Harvard for his LLM. DY Chandrachud was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of India on May 13, 2016, by the then President Pranab Mukherjee. He will be in office until 2024.
Justice Ashok Bhushan practised as an advocate in the Allahabad High Court following which he was elevated the 31st Chief Justice of Kerala High Court. He was born in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh on 5 July 1956. He started his career in advocacy by enrolling with Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh on 6 April 1979 and started practicing in Civil and Original side at Allahabad High Court till the elevation to the Bench. He was appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 13 May 2016.
Justice Abdul Nazeer assumed his office on 17 February 2017. He has been a part of several famous and important judgments. He was born on 5 January 1958 at Beluvai (near Moodbidri) in Karnataka. He completed his graduation in Bachelor of Commerce (B.com.) at Mahaveer College, Moodbidri
