The Supreme Court (SC,) on the 6th of March, reviewed the Ayodhya dispute case and gave a verdict on the same.
The Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute is a long standing issue for land in Ayodhya. The Babri Masjid was broken down by Hindu extremists who believed Ram was born in the exact same spot where the Masjid was built. Now, both Hindus and Muslims are having issues on the same piece of land.
The bench of five judges, comprising of Ranjana Gogoi, the Chief Justice of India (CJI,) Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S.A. Nazeer, heard the case. The bench will be headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi.
The last hearing regarding the case ended with the open conclusion, if there is a chance of resolving the matter and negotiating, both the parties should explore the option.
However, the dispute was still unresolved as the efforts to take a mutual decision failed.
Speaking about today’s hearing, the SC decided to give a chance to resolve the matter through mediation. However, the petitioners, The Hindu Mahasabha, argued against the mediation process and said, it will be a failed attempt, as the Hindus will not be ready for mediation.
The heated arguments regarding the attempts of mediation lasted for hours, after which the SC decided to go for a court monitored mediation.
The SC bench said, “We are considering it (mediation) very seriously. You all (parties) have used the word that this matter is not adversarial. We would like to give a chance to mediation even if there is one percent chance,”
The Court also asked the petitioners, the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara, the Hindu Mahasabha and C.S. Vaidyanathan representing the deity Ram Lalla (infant Ram) to give the names of the mediators.
The Hindu Mahasabha suggested, Dipak Misra, the former CJI of India, Justice J.S. Kher and A.K. Patnaik, a former Supreme Court Judge, as the mediators.
However, the final names of the mediators will be announced soon.
The Hindu petitioners, except Nirmohi Akhara, are against the mediation, whereas the Muslim parties agreed to the same.
The decades long case finally came to a verdict with the judgment of the court monitored mediation. According to the judgment, the Muslim and the Hindu Parties will resolve the matter and negotiate under the supervision of a mediator.
The resolution of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute is said to be the key agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win the Lok Sabha elections and secure a majority of votes from Hindu voters.
The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled between April and May 2019 and the major parties contesting are the Indian National Congress and the BJP.
Stay tuned for further updates.
