Ayodhya case: Supreme Court extends time for mediation panel till Aug 15

The Supreme Court on Friday extended time till August 15 for the three-member mediation panel to conclude its proceedings in the Ayodhya title suit dispute. The committee which is meeting at Faizabad is headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd) Fakir Mohammad Ibrahim Kalifulla and has spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu as members.

In a sealed cover report submitted to the SC on May 7, the chairman of the Mediation Committee Justice (Retd) Kalifulla informed the SC that the mediation process is showing positive signs as the parties to the dispute – the Hindu side, Muslim side, and Nirmohi Akhara, are working constructively with the Committee towards a solution. The Court granted the extension and sought a report from the Committee on or before August 15.

On March 8 during the hearing of the title suits, the Court ordered the Hindu and Muslim parties to resolve the dispute through mediation. It was meant to be an exercise undertaken during the interregnum till the records of the case are translated and prepared for hearing. The SC had requested the Committee to complete its work in four weeks.

Faced with time constraints, the Committee submitted a report in sealed cover on May 7 requesting the apex court for an extension. The bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer took up the report and expressed satisfaction on the progress made so far. "They are optimistic to find a solution. Why should we short circuit the process," said the bench. The Committee said that they had met the parties several times and they are positive of an "amicable and a lasting solution".

The Hindu party represented by senior advocates CS Vaidyanathan and Ranjit Kumar suggested delay as a cause of worry as the Committee had already consumed nine weeks. Even the Nirmohi Akhara through senior advocate Sushil Kumar Jain raised a grievance in Court that the Committee was not allowing the parties to meet each other. Rather they were being called individually. The Muslim side represented by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan said, "We support any attempt to a peaceful and negotiated solution."

Meanwhile, the Court was informed that in the translation of the 13,990 pages of vernacular text by the official translators of the SC, some errors had crept in. The Court directed the lawyers appearing for the various parties to file the errors in writing before the next hearing.

The Court has barred any reporting by the media of the Committee's proceedings and has even restrained the parties from speaking about their discussions in the open by declaring it an in-camera proceeding.

Claim For Holy Land

• The SC had appointed a three-member mediation panel
• The panel is supposed to explore possibilities of an amicable solution
• Panel says the parties (Hindu, Muslim and Nirmohi Akhara) are working constructively to find a solution
• The panel has now been given time till August 15