SC Extends Time For Completing Ayodhya- Babri Land Dispute Mediation Till Aug 15

Constitution bench of the Supreme Court has extended the time given to the Ayodhya mediation panel to complete the process till August 15.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that the report of the Chairman of the court-appointed mediation committee has been received and the progress made in the process is noted-

"The mediation is on and the Chairperson seeks an extension until August 15 to arrive at an amicable and complete solution which we are inclined to grant. But we would like for the progress (between the parties) to remain confidential for now"

While Senior Counsel Rajeev Dhawan, for the Sunni Waqf Board, expressed utmost support towards all attempts of mediation, Senior Advocate C. S. Vaidyanathan for Ram Lalla insisted that the committee be granted time only until the end of June.

"When they are seeking time till August, how can we do that? We don't want to short-circuit the process", observed the Chief Justice, proceeding the dictate the order allowing the extension.

The Committee had submitted its interim report in a sealed cover earlier this week.

The parties are next scheduled to meet to continue the endeavour to reach a compromise in June

Two months ago, the Court had referred the matter for mediation to a court appointed panel of former SC judge Justice F M Khalifullah, Sri Sri Ravi Sankar and Senior Advocate Sriram Panchu.

The proceedings were directed to be held at Faizabad in UP, where the disputed site is located.

The bench also clarified that the mediation process should be held in-camera, and had barred media from reporting on its developments.