The 3-member mediation panel that was setup by the Supreme Court has expressed that the Ayodhya case cannot be resolved through negotiations as per a media report. The panel’s decision was submitted to the court in a closed envelope on Thursday. With this, it is now clear that the Supreme Court has to fix a schedule for the day to day hearings on the matter. The mediation panel was constituted by the Supreme Court in March this year to explore if the Ramjanbhumi dispute can be solved through negotiations. The panel consisted of former SC judge FMI Kalifulla, senior advocate Sriram Panchu and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar. The panel for the last four and a half months tried to negotiate with the Hindu and Muslim parties connected to the case. However the talks did not yield results as majority of the parties did not consent to further negotiations. The five-judge bench, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, on July 18th had given the panel a fortnight to submit its report on its efforts. It had also observed that a day-to-day hearing may commence if the court decides to conclude the mediation proceedings. The mediation panel which has also submitted its efforts has concluded that negotiations have failed. With this submission, the Supreme Court is likely to take up a regular hearing on a day-to-day basis as indicated earlier.
