Ayodhya Case: Supreme Court to give order on August 2, mediation panel gets extension till July 31st

The Supreme Court on Thursday fixed August 2 as next date of hearing after mediation panel submitted ‘status report’ on the politically sensitive case of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya.  The mediation will continue till July 31 and the panel will submit its report on August 1 on talks with various groups for a solution.

"We now fix the date of hearing on August 2nd. We request the mediation committee to inform the outcome of the proceedings as of July 31", the bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and also comprising justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and SA Nazeer.

Earlier on June 11, the Supreme Court sought the report on the "progress of mediation" in the land dispute case Ayodhya and said a day-to-day hearing may commence from July 25 if the court decides to conclude those proceedings.

"It will be convenient to have the said report latest by July 18, on which date further orders will be passed by this court," said the bench.

"We also make it clear that if this court comes to a conclusion that, having regard to the report of Justice FMI Kalifulla, the mediation proceedings should be ordered to be concluded, the court will do so and order for commencement of the hearing of the appeals before it, tentatively, on and from July 25, which hearings, if required, will be conducted on day-to-day basis," the bench had said.

The bench passed the order while hearing an application filed by a legal heir of one of the original litigants, Gopal Singh Visharad, seeking a judicial decision on the dispute and conclusion of the mediation process, alleging that nothing much was happening there.

During the hearing, senior advocate K Parasaran, appearing for the applicant, said it was probably very difficult to settle a dispute of this nature through mediation and sought judicial decision on the vexatious dispute.

He was supported by senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for deity 'Ram Lalla Virajman', who said that they had earlier also opposed the reference of the matter to a mediation panel.