Ayodhya Land Dispute Case: Supreme Court to take up mediation panel report today

Supreme Court will hear at 10.30 am on Friday the Ayodhya title dispute case. This is the first hearing after the top court constituted three-member mediation committee, tasked with exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement in the decades-old, politically sensitive, Ayodhya's Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case. 

The matter will be heard by a Constitution bench comprising of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi and judges SA Bobde, Dr. DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer. 

Ayodhya case is listed tomorrow for hearing in the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/gY6zM0TSQt

— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2019

According to sources, the three-member mediation committee has submitted its interim report in a sealed cover. Sources aware of the development said the interim report was filed with the top court Registry on May 6.

The bench had on March 8 referred the land dispute case for mediation by a panel headed by former top court judge FMI Kalifulla for exploring possibility of an amicable settlement.

The bench had said that spiritual guru and founder of Art of Living foundation Sri Sri Ravishankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu, a renowned mediator, will be the other two members of the panel of mediators and the proceedings will be held at Faizabad.

The top court had asked the panel to submit the progress report within four weeks.

It said that mediation proceedings, which would be held "in-camera", be completed within eight weeks -- the interregnum period granted earlier by the apex court to the parties in the main Ayodhya case to go through translations of oral and documentary evidences related to the case.

The court was earlier told by Hindu bodies, except for Nirmohi Akhara, and the Uttar Pradesh government that they oppose the court's suggestion for mediation. The Muslim bodies had however supported the proposal.

The top court had also directed that the mediation proceedings should be conducted with "utmost confidentiality" for ensuring its success and the views expressed by any of the parties including the mediators should be kept confidential and not be revealed to any other person.

Fourteen appeals have been filed in the top court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

On December 6, 1992, the Babri Masjid, constructed at the disputed site in the 16th century by Shia Muslim Mir Baqi, was demolished.

With PTI Inputs