The Supreme Court will on Thursday decide whether a 1994 judgement, which said that a mosque is not integral to Islam, should be re-examined by a larger bench. In 1994, a five-judge Constitution bench, hearing the M Ismail Faruqui case, had held that namaz could be offered anywhere and that a mosque was not a “essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam”, and therefore it could be acquired by the state without contravening the provisions of the Constitution.

In July, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict in the case. Muslim groups had argued before the top court that the “sweeping observation” of the court in 1994 needed to be reconsidered by a larger Constitution bench. M Siddiq, one of the original litigants of the Ayodhya land dispute, had objected to parts of the 1994 verdict. He has died and is being represented by a legal heir.

The verdict will have an impact on the Ayodhya dispute that the Supreme Court is currently hearing, Muslim groups had told the court in July. The judgement is likely to be pronounced before 2 pm on Thursday, The Indian Express reported.