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In a 5-0 unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court ruled on Saturday that the 2.77 acres of disputed land in Ayodhya will be handed over to a trust for the construction of a Ram Mandir.
Reading out the verdict, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said that a 5-acre land will be allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board in an alternate site in Ayodhya.
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The court said that Nirmohi Akhara, which was granted one-third title by the Allahabad High Court in 2010, does not have a claim to title or even managerial rights. The temple which will be constructed will be managed by the trust.
The court directed the central government to frame a scheme within three months to allocate land for the mosque and forming the temple trust.
While agreeing that Ram Lalla Virajman, the deity has legal character, the court rejected the argument of the Hindus that the Janmasthan (birthplace of Ram Lalla) also had legal character.
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The court reasoned that although the Muslims never lost possession of the disputed land, they have not been able to establish adverse possession.
However, the court said, relying on reports of the Archeological Survey of India that there is sufficient proof that the Babri Masjid was not built on an empty land but on an underlying structure that is not Islamic.
