A five-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Friday gave the Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee time till August 15 to continue with its efforts to resolve the prolonged and strife-ridden Ayodhya title dispute.
“We do not want to short circuit the mediation process. We will extend the time in order to enable the committee to complete the task assigned to it,” Chief Justice Gogoi addressed the parties present in the courtroom.
The committee filed an interim report dated May 7 with the Constitution Bench.
Sources said the panel conveyed that “progress” was being made in the talks and the panel was meeting with the parties.
The next meeting with the stakeholders is in June.
The panel of mediators comprises former apex court judge Justice F.M.I. Kalifulla, as Chairman; and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu, a pioneer in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in the country, as members.
The court sent the Ayodhya dispute for mediation on March 8 in a bid to heal minds and hearts. It gave the panel an initial deadline of eight weeks.
The eight weeks was the time given to the Muslim parties to examine the accuracy and relevance of the Uttar Pradesh government’s official translation of thousands of pages of oral depositions and exhibits in the Ayodhya title suit appeals pending since 2010 in the court. In fact, the court had invoked Section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) to propose mediation as an “effective utilisation of time” during the interregnum.
“The report says the mediation process is on… We are inclined to grant them time,” Chief Justice Gogoi remarked.