Ayodhya dispute: Mediation panel submits report, SC's hearing tomorrow
What's the story
The three-member mediation panel, formed to solve the sensitive Ayodhya case, submitted its findings to the Supreme Court on Thursday, in a sealed cover.
The top court will conduct a hearing on the report on Friday.
To recall, on July 18, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi-led bench had said that mediation would continue till July 31.
Here's what happened.
Case
A bit about the decades-old case
The sensitive case pertains to 2.77 acres of land in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya. In 1992, Hindu activists razed the 16th-century Babri Masjid on the belief that Lord Rama took human form at the exact same spot, sparking countrywide communal riots.
To note, in 2010, Allahabad High Court divided the land equally among all three litigants- Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board, and Nirmohi Akhada.
Panel
In March, SC formed mediation panel
Dissatisfied with the verdict, all three parties approached SC. Notably, 14 petitions related to the case have been filed in the court till now.
After innumerable hearings and adjournments, SC in March formed a panel headed by retired SC judge FMI Kalifulla for an amicable solution.
Spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior lawyer Sriram Panchu are also part of the panel.
Looking back
We are looking at healing: SC said batting for mediation
Recommending mediation, the constitutional bench, also including Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer, said it was looking at "the possibility of healing".
The bench had noted it can't change the past, but even if there's a slight chance of arriving at a solution through conversations, it should be taken up.
Interestingly, the Hindu side was reluctant for mediation.
Process
Earlier, son of original litigator said mediation didn't make headway
While everyone looked towards the panel with hope, the son of one of the original litigators in the case told SC last month that no progress has been made.
Gopal Singh Visharad's son Rajendra Singh claimed he participated in the mediation process "wholeheartedly" but nothing happened.
He also said that he wasn't even invited for a meeting which happened in June.