Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute suit should be disposed of as soon as possible, but clarified that he was speaking as a citizen.

“One thing I would like to say, not as law minister of the country but as a citizen of India, is that the Ram Janmabhoomi case is now pending for 70 years. The Allahabad High Court judgment came in favour of Ram Janmabhoomi. Now the appeal is pending for ten years. The appeal should be disposed of as soon as possible,” Prasad told reporters before leaving for Delhi.

Prasad had been asked to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel the January 29 Ayodhya hearing because of the unavailability of one of the judges on the five-judge bench that was to take up the case on Tuesday.

“It is good that cases are heard quickly but people of the country have expectations that the Ram Janmabhoomi case too should be disposed of as soon as possible. We all have high regard for the Supreme Court and have faith in the judiciary but there is one expectation also that this matter is heard on a priority basis,” Prasad said.