The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court today (March 8, 2019) referred the Ayodhya dispute for mediation by stating that We do not find any legal impediment in referring the matter to mediation.
The mediation which is scheduled to start in a week, in-camera, will be chaired by former Supreme Court judge JusticeF.M.I. Kalifulla, and will also comprise spiritualist Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Senior Advocate Sriram Panchu.
The Constitution Bench comprising of Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi and Justices S.A. Bobde, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan, and S. Abdul Nazeer ordered that the mediation is to be held with utmost confidentiality, adding that there is to be no reporting in print or electronic media on the process of mediation.
The mediation will be held in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. A status report of the mediation is required to be submitted within four weeks.
On February 26, 2019, the apex court suggested the parties to resolve the matter through mediation stating that it is not only thinking about the ownership of land but also about healing relationships.
While the Sunni Waqf Board expressed the willingness to participate in mediation, Hindu parties objected to the idea.
After hearing the parties, the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on March 6, 2019.
