Ayodhya case hearing: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that day-to-day hearing in the long pending Ayodhya case will begin from August 6 as the mediation panel set up by it has failed to come up with any settlement. A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court will hear the matter on a daily basis.
“We have received the report submitted by chairman of the committee, Justice Kalifulla. We have perused the same. Mediation proceedings have not resulted in any kind of final settlement, therefore, we have to proceed with the hearing of the appeal which will commence from August 6,” said the five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. The bench comprises Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose.
The three-member mediation panel, headed by former Supreme Court judge FMI Kalifulla, had submitted the report of proceedings in a sealed cover. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court Constitution bench had asked the mediation panel to inform the court about the outcome of the mediation proceedings by August 1. The Supreme Court had fixed the seat for the mediation process in Faizabad, around 7 km from Ayodhya. The court had ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to make adequate arrangements for the mediation process.
A total of 14 pleas have been filed in the Supreme Court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court order, 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 Babri Masjid, which was constructed at the site in the 16th century by Mughal Emperor Babar, was demolished on December 6, 1992.
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The mediation panel, which submitted its report on Thursday, said that the Hindu and the Muslim parties have not been able to find a solution to the long pending dispute. The three-member mediation panel included former Supreme Court judge FM Kalifulla, retired justice and advocate Sriram Panchu and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
According to reports, the mediation panel in its report submitted earlier said both the parties have not been able to find a solution to the dispute. The three member mediation panel headed by former SC judge FMI Kalifulla submitted its report on Thursday. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi considered the report and decided to hear the matter on a day-to-day basis from August 6.
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court will hear the matter on a daily basis. The bench will have to conclude the hearing before the first week of November when Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi is slated to retire. If the hearing extends beyond the first week of November, the bench will be needed to be constituted afresh.
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has said that the mediation process has not resulted in any settlement. Day-to-day hearing in Ayodhya case will begin from August 6.
The five-judge Supreme Court bench will study the report submitted by the mediation panel and would then decide over whether the case be heard on day-to-day basis or the mediation process should continue.
The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title case dispute pertains to the ownership of 2.77 acres of land in Uttar Padesh's Ayodhya where, according to Hindus, Lord Ram was born. Mughal emperor Babur constructed a mosque - Babri Masjid - in 15th century at the same spot. The Babri Masjid was demolished by an unruly mob on December 6, 1992 leading to large scale communal violence across the country.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had in a report submitted in 2003 suggested that a temple existed at the disputed site in Ayodhya. The Babri Masjid was demolished in December 1992.
The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench is currently hearing the case. Besides Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the other judges in the bench are Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer.
The Supreme Court is likely to take up the matter for hearing post-lunch today. Earlier on Thursday, the SC appointed mediation panel had submitted its report. The Hindus have demanded from the SC to order day-to-day hearing in the decades old case.
The Supreme Court had in March ordered time-bound mediation in the contentious Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Ayodhya title dispute case. However, Hindus said that they were opposed to the court's idea as mediation was bound to fail. Hindus said that mediation is not possible because the entire disputed land belongs to Lord Ram. They have argued that in the past, whenever mediation was taken up to resolve the matter amicably, it failed because Muslim parties staged a walk out at the last moment. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
On December 6, 1992, the Babri Masjid which was constructed at the disputed site in the 16th century by Shia Muslim Mir Baqi, was demolished by Kar Sevaks.
In 2010, the Allahabad High Court had ruled that the 2.77 acre of disputed land should be divided among the three involved parties equally -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
A total of 14 appeals have been filed in the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court 2010 verdict. The top court is yet to commence hearing. Earlier, the court had suggested taking the mediation route to find a solution.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray recenly visited Ayodhya where he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the courage to bring an ordinance to construct Ram temple in Ayodhya. he had said that if the Modi government takes the decision, there is no one to stop it. "Not only Shiv Sena, Hindus of the whole world are with this,” he had said. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the saint fraternity have made an appeal to the Modi government and the Chief Justice of India to speed up hearings in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
The Supreme Court had appointed a three-member panel in March to hold talks with the parties. The panel was headed by former SC judge FMI Kalifulla and other two members of the panel were spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu.
The Supreme Court had earlier this year referred the decades-old dispute for mediation and set up a three-member panel. The panel was asked by the court to hold consultations with all the parties for an amicable settlement of the issue. "It is not only about property. It is about mind, heart and healing, if possible," the SC had said.
The Ayodhya dispute involves the site in Ayodhya where the 16th-century Babri mosque stood before it was razed in December 1992. Hindus believe that the mosque was built on the ruins of an ancient temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The three-member mediation panel, which was allowed time till July 31 to continue talks to develop consensus between Hindu and Muslim parties, submitted its report in a sealed cover on Thursday. The top court will conduct hearing on the Ayodhya mediation report on Friday.
The Supreme Court will review the report on mediation efforts by a three-member panel in the Ram Mandir case on Friday, following which it may decide where to hear the case or continue with the talks among various groups to find a permanent solution.