The Supreme Court today said that the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case will be settled through mediation, and a three-member mediation panel has been formed to meet all petitioners.
The five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SA Bobde, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer, also said that the mediation proceedings are to remain confidential and there should not be any media reporting on it.
The three-member panel includes former Supreme Court judge Justice FM Ibrahim Kalifulla and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Senior advocate Sriram Panchu will be the third member. They will meet all the petitioners in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad. Justice (retired) Kalifulla will be the chairperson of the committee.
The panel has been given eight weeks to prepare the report, and asked to submit the first status report within four weeks before the five-judge bench. The mediation process will begin next week.
On March 6, the court had reserved its order on sending the matter for mediation as the Hindu parties and the state of Uttar Pradesh opposed the court’s suggestions. The Muslim parties however had agreed to mediation if the court decides so.
The Constitution bench has said that the case is not about property, but about “mind, heart and healing – if possible” and a settlement through discussion was the best way to restore peace.
The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute concerns a 2.77 acre land in Ayodhya where a mosque, said to be built by Mughal emperor Babur stood. Hindu groups believe that the mosque was built on the ruins of a temple where Lord Ram was born. The dispute has been on for decades over right to the land based on establishing the “truth”.
Hindu activists razed the mosque on December 6, 1992 that led to nation-wide unrest and riots in which about 2,000 people died.
There are 14 petitions filed in the Supreme Court contesting the 2010 Allahabad High Court’s order to distribute the disputed land equally among the three involved parties.
