10 Takeaways From SC’s Order on Mediation in Ayodhya Dispute Case

The Supreme Court on Friday, 8 March, referred Ayodhya's Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case to mediation for “permanent solution.”

(Catch all the live updates on the case here.)

Here are the key takeaways from SC’s Friday order:

• The mediation process will be held in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad district.
• Justice FMI Kalfullah, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and senior advocate Sriram Panchu are the court-appointed mediators.
• The proceedings should start in a month and the interim report should be submitted within four weeks from its commencement.
• The entire process of mediation must be completed in eight weeks.
• "Court-monitored mediation proceedings will be confidential," said CJI Ranjan Gogoi, adding that the media is barred from covering it.
• The SC also directed on-camera proceedings for mediation in the case.
• The SC said the panel of mediators may co-opt more members and in case of any difficulty they can inform the apex court registry.
• “Mediators can seek further legal assistance as and when required,” the order added.
• The apex court, during the hearing, observed that the issue is not about 2.77 acres land, but about religious sentiments.
• The order holds significance as 14 appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad HC 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.

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