Judges Who Delivered Ram Janmabhoomi Verdict Invited To Pran Prathishtha Ceremony; Check List

New Delhi: Celebrities and VVIPs from all walks of life will descend on Ayodhya on January 22 for the much-hyped consecration or Pran Prathishtha ceremony at the newly-constructed Ram Temple.

Five prominent names on the list of invitees are the Supreme Court judges who heard the title dispute cases from August to November 2019 before delivering a historic verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case on November 9, 2019, reported Law Today.

They are — Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, former CJI SA Bobde, current CJI DY Chandrachud and former judges Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer.

The five-judge bench of the country’s top court vacated the previous decision and ruled that the land belonged to the government, based on tax records, thus paving the way for construction of a Ram temple by a trust.

One of the longest-running battles in India’s legal history concluded with the bench granting the entire disputed land to the deity Ram Lalla and directed the government to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Muslim side to build a mosque.

The Babri mosque had stood atop the site of Lord Ram’s birthplace in Ayodhya. A sustained campaign started by the Vishva Hindu Parishad culminated in the demolition of the mosque in 1992.

Of the five judges who delivered the four years ago, ex-CJI Gogoi is serving as a Rajya Sabha MP, having been nominated by the President; Justice Bobde succeeded Justice Gogoi and served as the 47th CJI from November 18, 2019 to April 23, 2021; Justice Chandrachud took charge as CJI in November 2022; Justice Bhushan retired as a Supreme Court judge in July 2021; Justice Nazeer is currently serving as Andhra Pradesh Governor.

The Ram Janmabhoomi verdict judges apart, around 50 jurists have also been invited.