What next after Justice Lalit exits from Constitution Bench hearing Ayodhya appeals

New Delhi, Jan 10: It was over before it even began. The Constitution Bench that was to hear the Ayodhya appeals has to be re-constituted after Justice Uday U Lalit recused himself.

The decision came after the advocate appearing for the Muslim side objected and said that Justice Lalit had appeared for Kalyan Singh in a contempt case related to the disputed land.

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi observed that that all brother judges are of the opinion that it would not be appropriate for him to take part in the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute.

The CJI said if Justice Lalit was not to take part further, then the hearing needs to be postponed. The case will now be heard on January 29. With Justice Lalit recusing himself from hearing the matter, a new Bench would have to be constituted.

This Bench was unique in several ways. It had the CJI and four future CJIs in it. The Bench comprised of CJI Gogoi, Justices S A Bobde, N V Ramana, Uday U Lalit and DY Chandrachud.

The CJI would now have to re-constitute the five judge Bench by finding a replacement for Justice Lalit.

In the meantime, the Supreme Court's registry would have to physically examine the records stored in the 50 sealed trunks in a sealed room. The registry would have to report back on January 29. There is lack of clarity about the correctness of the translations of the records. The registry would have to examine the same with the help of experts.