New mediator to tackle ITC, Wakf dispute

The high court has appointed Justice Raveendran as the mediator in the dispute between Wakf board and Windsor Manor.

Earlier, Justice Shivraj Patil, a retired Supreme Court judge, was appointed to mediate between the parties to resolve the issues. Laila Ollapally, a senior mediator, was appointed the coordinator.

The initial fee for Justice Patil was fixed at Rs5lakh, while the fee for the coordinator was fixed at Rs1.5lakh. The bench referred the matter to mediation while hearing an appeal filed by ITC Limited against the order of the single judge, who had upheld Board’s 2002 order for evicting ITC Limited from the property (on which the hotel was constructed) under the Karnataka Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act 1974. The bench on Wednesday stayed the proceedings on the dispute before the Wakf Tribunal.