Ram Mandir -Babri Masjid: Supreme Court to hear Application for Early Hearing tomorrow

The Supreme Court will hear tomorrow, an application filed by one of the original plaintiffs in the Ram Mandir – Babri Masjid dispute, praying for an early hearing of the matter..The application will be heard at 10.30 AM by the Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer..The applicant had mentioned the matter yesterday claiming that no progress has been made in the mediation ordered by the Court to settle the issue. He had, therefore, sought an early listing of the case. The case is otherwise slated to be heard after August 15..On March 8, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had referred the long-standing Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute for mediation. The mediation panel is being chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice FMI Kalifulla and also comprises spiritualist Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Senior Advocate Sriram Panchu..The Court had further ordered that the mediation proceedings shall be kept confidential and that there ought not to be any reporting of the said proceedings either in the print or in the electronic media..The order stated,.“We are also of the view that the mediation proceedings should be conducted with utmost confidentiality so as to ensure its success which can only be safeguarded by directing that the proceedings of mediation and the views expressed therein by any of the parties including the learned Mediators shall be kept confidential and shall not be revealed to any other person.”.The mediators were empowered to pass specific written orders in this regard to restrain publication of details of mediation proceedings..A status report regarding the progress of the mediation was required to be submitted within four weeks..In May, the Court, however, extended the deadline given to the Mediation Committee allowed it to complete the process by August 15..[Read Notice]