The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would hear a plea seeking live telecast or recordings of proceedings in the Ayodhya land dispute case on September 16, PTI reported. A five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi is hearing the case every day.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue KN Govindacharya, told the judges that the petition needed to be heard as it pertained to the ongoing hearings. The trial was related to a matter of social and constitutional gravity, The Hindu quoted the lawyer as saying.

On September 6, the top court had ruled that the petition should be presented before a bench led by Gogoi. The bench had noted that the case was sensitive, and said the court was open “but not to outsiders...only litigants”.

In September 2018, the Supreme Court had allowed live streaming of court proceedings of cases of constitutional and national importance. The court had said openness was like “sunlight”, calling it the “best disinfectant”. Govindacharya, in his plea, highlighted this judgement and said right to know was a fundamental right. An order should be passed allowing live streaming of the hearings, he added.

In his plea, the former RSS ideologue also said it was a “matter of national importance” and the public was “desperate for early justice in the Ram temple matter”.

The Ayodhya dispute has been going on for several decades, with both Hindu and Muslim groups claiming their right to the land. The Babri Masjid stood there before it was demolished in 1992 by Hindutva activists.

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