Ayodhya: Panel submits report; SC to hear case on Fri

The Justice F M I Kalifulla-headed panel on Thursday submitted its report to the Supreme Court on the mediation proceedings undertaken to resolve the Ayodhya land dispute related to Babri mosque and Ram Temple.

The Supreme Court is now scheduled to take up the case on Friday the matter to determine the future course of action in the protracted legal battle.

The report was filed in the Supreme Court's registry as per the direction of the court on July 18.

Spiritual guru and founder of Art of Living Foundation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu, a renowned mediator, are two members of the panel of mediators.

A five-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had earlier sought another report from the panel headed by former SC judge, Kalifulla on the outcome of the mediation proceedings.

The court had said the hearing in the case may take place from August 2, if required, since it would depend upon the content of the report from the panel. The contents of the panel report were not revealed as the court had on March 8 directed for keeping it confidential. The media were also restrained from reporting the mediation proceedings.

The bench, also comprising Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer would assemble on August 2 at 2 pm for determining the further action.

A batch of appeals against the Allahabad High Court's 2010 judgement for the division of the disputed land among Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara in three equal parts, is pending before the apex court.