The Supreme Court on Friday turned down a plea that sought to refer the Ayodhya land dispute case to a larger bench, PTI reported.

The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, said it will decide whether to send the matter to a five-judge Constitution bench only after hearing all parties to the litigation, including the Sunni Waqf Board and the Uttar Pradesh government. The court will hear the case next on April 27.

Earlier, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for a Muslim party told the bench, “The Ayodhya land dispute is far more important than polygamy among Muslims and the whole nation wants an answer.”

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Dhavan was referring to last month’s decision by a three-judge-bench of the apex court, also headed by Mishra, that had referred petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of polygamy among Muslims to a larger Constitution bench.

On December 6, 1992, lakhs of karsevaks demolished the Babri Masjid claiming that the land on which the mosque stood was the birthplace of Ram. The Sangh Parivar hopes to reconstruct a Ram temple at the spot. The demolition of the masjid had triggered communal riots across the country.

The movement to demolish the mosque was led by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti are among the accused in the case. Advani piloted one of many roadshows across India in 1990 to galvanise support to have a temple built at the site of the mosque. In May 2017, a special Central Bureau of Investigation court granted Advani, Joshi and Bharti bail.

In 2010, the Allahabad High Court – which was hearing the title suit pertaining to whether Hindus or Muslims own the land on which the Babri Masjid stood until it was destroyed in 1992 – divided the disputed plot among the Sunni Waqf Board, a Hindu organisation called the Nirmohi Akhara, and Ram Lalla or the infant Ram, who is represented by the Hindu Mahasabha. The Supreme Court is hearing appeals against this judgment.