The court ordered that the mediation proceedings be carried out within eight weeks, and requested that the first status report be sent after four weeks
The Supreme Court today ordered court-monitored mediation in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case in an attempt to find a “permanent solution” to the decades-old case.
The top court appointed a three-member panel, which will be headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice FMI Kalifullah and include Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu.
Let’s take a closer look at who the mediators are.
Justice FMI Kalifullah
Born in Tamil Nadu, Fakkir Mohammed Ibrahim Kalifullah started practising law in Chennai. He was appointed as the judge of the Madras High Court in 2000. Later, he was promoted as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir during which time he travelled across the state to establish legal aid clinics so as to help locals.
He was elevated to a judge of the Supreme Court in April 2012 and retired in July 2016. At his farewell organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association, the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur had lauded his efforts in taking the BCCI case forward.
"While deciding the BCCI matter, I felt like I was sitting beside a former Indian cricket captain. That was the extent of the insight provided by Kalifullah. He has so much insight into the working of the BCCI. I am eternally grateful to him for helping me and the game as such in regaining its glory. Nothing is forever, nothing is eternal. But I think my short association with Justice Kalifullah will stay forever,” Thakur had said.
Justice Kalifullah has also delivered several landmark verdicts including one related to the introduction of Vedic astrology as a course of scientific study in Indian universities.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation.
In the last couple of years, the spiritual leader has shown keen interest in mediating over the dispute.
In the past, Sri Sri has also offered mediation over the Kashmir issue. He has met Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at his residence in Srinagar, where the two had a discussion on the prevailing situation in the Valley.
He even met Muzaffar Wani, father of Burhan Wani, the 22-year-old poster boy of militant organization Hizbul Mujahideen, who was shot by the Indian Army in July 2016.
Sri Sri has also held discussions with United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) chief Paresh Barua to come to peace talks with the government.
In 2015, he is said to have held talks with Columbian rebel group FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army). He had even visited Iraq in 2008 and 2014, with the Art of Living Foundation airdropping aid for nearly 5,000 Iraq war victims.
He is even believed to have met Yazidi leaders, who were fighting the ISIS, in Iraq.
Senior advocate Sriram Panchu
An advocate based out of Chennai, Panchu has had a reputation of being a world-class mediator. He is the founder of The Mediation Chambers, which offers services in mediation and med-arb.
President of the Association of Indian Mediators and a director on board of the International Mediation Institute, Panchu set up India’s first court annexed mediation centre in 2005.
He has been instrumental in making mediation a part of India’s legal system.
Panchu has written several books on mediation. The Supreme Court referred to him as an "eminent trainer" and "one of the foremost mediators in the country".
