1528: The Babri mosque was constructed in Ayodhya by the orders of Mughal emperor Babar. Hindus believe it was built on the foundations of a temple which marked the birthplace of Hindu deity Ram.
1949: In December 1949, idols of deity Ram were allegedly put inside the mosque by Hindus. It led to widespread protests and religious leaders of both Hindu and Muslim communities filed cases against each other. The government declared the site as disputed and locked the gates of the mosque.
1950: Chief of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas (deity Ram Birthplace Movement) Mahant Paramhans Ramchandra Das filed suits in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh (UP) seeking permission to pray before the idols installed inside the premises. The plea was allowed though the inner courtyard gates remained locked.
1961: Sunni Central Board of Waqfs filed a case claiming the Babri mosque, and argued that since the surrounding area was a graveyard, it should not be allocated for deity Ram.
1984: Hindu hardline body Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) constituted a team to campaign for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site. VHP chose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani as the team head.
February 1, 1986: Faizabad district judge ordered the gates of the structure be opened for Hindus to offer prayers. Babri Masjid Action Committee was formed soon after this.
1989: The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi allowed ground-breaking ceremony at an undisputed site close to the Babri mosque structure.
September 25, 1990: Advani launched a procession to garner countrywide support for the construction of Ram temple.
December 6, 1992: The Babri mosque was brought down by leaders and workers of VHP and Hindu fundamentalist outfit Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and a makeshift temple was placed in its place. The Congress government at the Centre moved court for a status quo.
March 5, 2003: The Allahabad High Court (HC) ordered the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the disputed site in order to determine whether a temple existed where the mosque stood.
August 22, 2003: ASI submitted its report to the HC, saying it had found features of a tenth century temple beneath the site of the mosque.
August 31, 2003: All India Muslim Personal Law Board said it would challenge the ASI report.
July 26, 2010: The HC Bench reserved its judgement and advised all parties to solve the issue amicably.
September 14, 2010: A writ was filed to defer the judgement but was subsequently rejected by HC.
September 23, 2010: The plea for an out-of-court settlement reached Supreme Court (SC) and the apex body said it would hear it again on September 28.
September 28, 2010: The apex court rejected petition for deferment and gave nod to Allahabad HC to deliver the judgement. The HC ruled for a three-way division of the disputed area, between the Sunni Waqf Board, the Hindu Nirmohi Akhara and the party representing ‘Ram Lalla’ (deity Ram).
February 26, 2016: SC permitted BJP leader Subramanian Swamy to intervene in the pending matters relating to the Ayodhya dispute with his plea seeking construction of Ram temple at the site of the demolished disputed structure.
March 21, 2017: SC asked both the parties in the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute to resolve their differences amicably outside court and even offered to mediate.
