Ayodhya verdict: Is mosque integral to Islam? SC today decides whether larger bench should re-examine issue

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will Thursday decide if the Ismail Faruqui judgment in which it was said that a mosque is not an integral part of the practice of Islam should be re-examined by a larger bench. The verdict will be delivered at 2 pm.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer had taken up the long-pending Ayodhya land title appeals against the Allahabad High Court judgment of 2010, which had ordered a three-way partition of the disputed land.

In 1994, a five-judge Constitution Bench, hearing the M Ismail Faruqui vs Union of India case, had held that a mosque was not a “essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam” and hence “its acquisition (by the state) is not prohibited by the provisions in the Constitution of India”. This issue has now come up during the hearing of the Ayodhya title suit.  This issue has now come up during the hearing of the Ayodhya title suit.

Adultery verdict at 10.30 am

The apex court will also deliver its verdict on the petition challenging the constitutional validity of Section 497 (Adultery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had referred the matter to a Constitution bench on the plea claiming that it is discriminatory towards men. The bench had reserved its judgment in August.

Hearing the mater, the apex court questioned the government’s stand defending the adultery law that punishes a man for having a sexual relationship with a married woman without the consent of her husband. The petitioners want Section 497 of the IPC, which punishes only a man for the offence of adultery, to be made gender-neutral.

Adultery is a criminal offence in India and the violation of the same can invite imprisonment for a term which may extend up to five years, or fine, or both.  (IE)