Ayodhya Case: SC to pronounce verdict on mediation tomorrow

Supreme Court on March 8 will give its order whether to send the Ayodhya land dispute case for court-appointed and monitored mediation. Hindu bodies except the Nirmohi akhara have opposed the suggestion of the apex court, while Muslim bodies have supported it.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will pronounce on March 8 whether to send the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case for court-appointed and monitored mediation for a "permanent solution".

The apex court had earlier on March 6 reserved its order on the issue. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi heard the contesting parties.

The bench also comprising Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer heard submissions from various Hindu and Muslim bodies involved in the matter.

Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

Hindu bodies except the Nirmohi akhara have opposed the suggestion of the apex court to refer the issue for court-mandated mediation, while Muslim bodies have supported it.

(With inputs from PTI)