On Wednesday, the Ayodhya mediation committee has been allowed by the Apex Court to resume talks with the disputing Hindu & Muslim parties even as it indicated that the ongoing hearings of the appeals before a Constitution Bench is likely to finish by Oct 18.
The SC has opened the doors again for an amicable settlement of the dispute among the parties, by giving mediation another chance. The mediation panel, if it is successful in patching up a settlement, can move the Court with the terms of the settlement anytime during the hearings or after the Judgment is reserved but before the verdict is pronounced.
Mediation should continue to remain confidential & would be carried on simultaneously with the Court proceedings, which has been going on for over 25 days, said the Top Court. The Bench it may even relegate Saturdays for the Ayodhya hearings if time seems to fall short as the days slip by.
Prepare timeline for oral arguments, lawyers told
On Sept 17, the Court asked the Advocates to chalk out a timeline to present their oral arguments in the appeals. The Advocates had conveyed it on Wednesday after which the Bench concluded the hearings could be closed by Oct18.
On Sept 16, the mediation committee filed in parallel a short memorandum informing the Court that parties across the Hindu-Muslim religious divide have approached it with a request to resume talks to amicably resolve the dispute.
The memorandum advised that mediation could continue even as the Court continues to hear the appeals.
The Constitution Bench declared the failure to reach a final settlement in a hearing on Aug 2. Adjudication of the pending appeals, which were kept in limbo due to the mediation, commenced from Aug 6. The Sunni Waqf Board is arguing its case.
Bid to heal minds & hearts
The mediation effort was commenced by the Court on March 8 in a bid to heal minds & hearts. The Bench had explained that the case was “not about the 1500 sq ft of disputed land, but about religious sentiments".
The mediation committee had held several rounds of talks with the stakeholders in Faizabad district of UP of which the disputed land in Ayodhya is a part of. The proceedings were held in camera & utmost care was taken to maintain confidentiality to ensure its success.
Initially, on March 8, the Court gave the mediation effort a deadline of 8 weeks. However, the panel filed an interim report dated May 7 in the Court, saying they were making “progress”.
The Court then increased the time till Aug 15, saying it did not want to “short-circuit” the mediation efforts. It pushed for a possible Out-of-Court settlement despite objections raised by some parties that their faith in Lord Ram’s birthplace was “non-negotiable”.
However, things took an immediate turn when an application was filed by Gopal Singh Visharad, an original claimant who filed a title suit in 1950, through his survivor Rajendra Singh. It claimed that the committee was making no progress & asked the Bench to commence hearing the long-pending Ayodhya appeals.
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