Court-Supervised Mediation in Ayodhya Dispute

Why in news?

The Supreme Court ordered a court-supervised mediation to resolve the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in 8 weeks.

Click here to know more on the dispute. Click here to read on Centre's recent appeal.

What is the core dispute?

The dispute over the site at Ayodhya has been continuing since 1949.
A 16th century mosque stood at Ayodhya until it was torn down by Hindutva fanatics in December 1992.
After the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the President referred the matter to the Supreme Court.
The court was to look into the question of whether there was a temple to Lord Ram before the mosque was built at the site.
The court, in a landmark decision in 1994, declined to go into that question.
However, it revived the title suits to decide on the ownership of the site and, thereby, restored due process and the rule of law.
The Supreme Court recently took up appeals against the 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which ordered a three-way division of the disputed site.

What is the court's order now?

The Court sought the views of the parties on invoking Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) which deals with mediation.
[Under Section 89 the court can order for a settlement among the parties.
The court may reformulate the terms of a possible settlement and refer the same for -

A five-judge constitution bench finally went for mediation and appointed former Supreme Court judge justice (retd) F.M.I. Kalifulla as the chairperson of the panel of mediators.
The other two members are spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu.
The mediation proceedings will be held in-camera in Faizabad which adjoins Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
To ensure the success of the mediation process, the apex court directed that “utmost confidentiality" be maintained.
It also barred both print and electronic media from reporting the proceedings.
Hindu bodies, except the Nirmohi Akhara, have opposed mediation, while Muslim bodies have supported it.

How effective will mediation be?

Mediation is a welcome option for those involved in prolonged civil disputes.
However, it is questionable whether this principle can be applied to all disputes and in all situations.
Mediation in Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is quite strange and incongruous.
This is because a number of attempts at mediation have been made in the past and all such previous attempts have ended in failure.
Further, the case is ripe for final hearing, and not all parties favoured mediation.
Moreover, the inclusion of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar as one of the mediators is controversial.
In the past, he has made remarks to the effect that Muslims ought to give up their claim and that the failure to find a negotiated settlement will result in “civil war”.

Why is the order welcome still?

The apex court itself is not very keen on pronouncing a judgement on the issue.
It's because it is less of a legal issue and more a matter of sentiments and faith.
A compromise among both will indeed be preferable to a court order that may leave one side aggrieved.
An appreciable feature of the court-mandated mediation attempt is that it will not consume much time.
The same eight weeks are needed for preparation for the final hearing.
Moreover, the confidentiality rule will be helpful in avoiding any unrest with premature disclosures, especially during election times.

Source: The Hindu, Livemint, Indian Express