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The mediation process in the Ayodhya temple case has failed, the Supreme Court said , saying daily hearing will begin from August 6 in the decades-old dispute.
“The mediation panel has not been able to achieve any final settlement,” Chief Justic of India Ranjan Gogoi said.
The mediation panel, led by retired Supreme Court judge FMI Kalifullah, has as its members senior advocate Sriram Panchu and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. It was appointed by the top court on March 8 to explore mediation in an attempt to “heal relationships” between communities. The Uttar Pradesh government and most Hindu parties opposed the initiative. But it was welcomed by Muslim parties.
The panel was initially given eight weeks to explore the possibility of a settlement, but on May 10, after the panel submitted an interim report to the court, the SC granted it an extension of three months, till August 15.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had on July 11 sought an update on the mediation and said they could start day-to-day hearings from July 25 if there was no merit in continuing the process.
The panel had been granted time till August 15 but the court, acting on the request of one of the litigants, said it would decide whether mediation should continue.
