Nirmohi Akhara moves SC over Ayodhya mediation: Demands two more judges in panel, seeks Delhi as venue instead of Faizabad

A litigant in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case, the Nirmohi Akhara has moved Supreme Court expressing unhappiness over the court-mandated mediation process, according to reports. The organisation, an original plaintiff in the decades-old Ayodhya case,  has asked for two retired Supreme Court judges to be included on the mediation panel in addition to the three nominated members, reported News18.

Two weeks on, Nirmohi Akhara has moved the #SupremeCourt, seeking changes in the court order on #mediation in the #Ayodhya case. It wants two retired judges more to be included in the #mediation panel besides shifting the place of #mediation to #Delhi from Faizabad.

— Utkarsh Anand (@utkarsh_aanand) March 25, 2019

On 8 March, the Supreme Court had referred the land dispute case for court-appointed and monitored mediation. [caption id=“attachment_5534481” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Supreme Court of India. PTI[/caption] The Akhara, reported Times of India, said the issue could be resolved through a dialogue between it and the Sunni Central Wakf Board. The dialogue, it however demanded, should be monitored by former apex court judge FM Ibrahim Kalifulla who currently heads the panel and two other additional retired Supreme Court judges. Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu are in the committee too. It has also requested the Supreme Court to move the mediation process out of Faizabad to Delhi. A five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, had said that the mediation proceedings will be held in the Uttar Pradesh city and that the state government will provide the mediators with all facilities. The Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee for resolution of the land dispute had held its first sitting on 13 March and heard all parties who attended the proceedings, of which the Nirmohi Akhara was one. “The appellant (Nirmohi Akhara) participated in the proceedings before the mediation panel held at Faizabad on 13 March. However, with utmost respect to this Honourable Court as well as the panel of mediators appointed by this court, the proceedings have left a lot to be desired,” the Akhara was quoted as having said, by The Hindu. The panel had directed that there should not be any reporting of the mediation proceedings in the print or other media, pointing out the views expressed by the top court. The next round of negotiations is scheduled to be held between 27 and 29 March in Faizabad.