Ayodhya case: SC seeks status report on mediation proceedings by July 18

The Supreme Court today sought a fresh status report on the ongoing mediation proceedings in the Ayodhya land dispute case within a week and made it clear that if the vexatious issue was not resolved amicably, it would hear the matter on a day-to-day basis from 25th of this month.

A five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, requested former apex court judge Justice (Retd) F M I Kalifulla, Chairperson of the three-member mediation panel, to submit the report by 18th July. 

The apex court passed the order while hearing an application filed by the legal heirs of one of the original litigants, Gopal Singh Visharad, seeking a judicial decision on the dispute and annulment of the ongoing mediation process, alleging that nothing much was happening. 

The apex court had, on 8th of March, referred the matter to the panel of mediators for exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement. In its order, the top court had asked the panel to hold in-camera proceedings and conclude the process within eight weeks.

It may be recalled that fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex 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.

The Hindu