Supreme Court orders mediation to settle Ayodhya title dispute

 New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered mediation to settle the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Ayodhya title dispute case by a three-member panel.

The panel will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice F.M.I. Kalifulla with Art of Living founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and senior advocate Shriram Panchu as its members. 

Ordering the mediation, the five-judge constitution bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer barred both the print and visual media from reporting on the mediation proceedings.

It also barred those participating in the proceedings from speaking to the media.

The mediation proceedings would be held at Faizabad and would commence in a week. 

The order pronounced by Chief Justice Gogoi did not pass any specific guidelines, leaving it to the mediators to take a call, and said that mediators could take any legal assistance that may be necessary. 

The court has ordered the mediation to use the time available before the regular hearing of the matter during which all the parties to the dispute have been asked to complete the paper work relating to the dispute.