The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to list the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid matter soon based on a petition for urgent hearing by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy.

“We are going to list the main matter soon. We will take a decision on it,” PTI quoted the court bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud as saying. Swamy had asked for urgent listing of the case, adding that the main appeals against the Allahabad High Court have been pending for seven years in the Supreme Court.

The dispute over the ownership of the 2.7 acres of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land has raged on for decades. On December 6, 1992, the mosque was demolished by Hindu volunteers gathered at the site. The incident had triggered communal riots across the country.

In September 2010, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had divided the site where the mosque once stood into three – two parts for Hindus and the third for muslims. All the parties involved had challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.

Earlier in March this year, the Supreme Court had suggested that the matter be resolved outside of court. It had said the subject was sensitive and sentimental, and asked all the parties to sit together and attempt to sort it out. It had added that it would appoint a mediator if out-of-court negotiations fail.