The lawyer for the Sunni Waqf Board, one of the Muslim parties in the Ayodhya land dispute case, on Thursday said the settlement plan advocated by a Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee was a “win-win” for both Hindus and Muslims, NDTV reported.
On Wednesday, the mediation panel had filed a report in the top court in a sealed cover. According to reports, the parties in the case have reached a settlement though its details are confidential and not known.
“We have given our views to the mediation panel but we can’t disclose the details of the settlement plan which has been submitted to the court,” lawyer Shahid Rizvi told NDTV. “It is a positive one and everyone – Hindus and Muslims – will be happy.”
People familiar with the developments said the Sunni Waqf Board has agreed to give up its claim to the site of the razed Babri Masjid, and has no objection to the land being taken over by the government to build a Ram Temple. The board has reportedly asked the government to renovate existing mosques in Ayodhya.
The five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi reserved its judgment on Wednesday after a marathon 40-day hearing. The top court allowed the parties to make the rest of the submissions in writing by Saturday. The verdict is expected before Chief Justice Gogoi retires on November 17.
The daily hearings in the case began on August 6 after the mediation attempt failed. The top court, however, allowed the mediators – former Supreme Court judge FMI Kalifulla, religious leader Sri Sri Ravishankar, and senior advocate Sriram Panchu – to continue talks even as it started proceedings.
The dispute is several decades old, with both Hindu and Muslim groups claiming their right to the land. The Babri Masjid stood on the land before it was demolished in 1992 by Hindutva activists.
In anticipation of the judgement, restrictive orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which bans the assembly of more than four people, were imposed in the temple town earlier this week. They will be in place till December 10. The Uttar Pradesh government, meanwhile, has cancelled the leaves of all field officers in the state’s 75 districts till November 30.
Scroll’s coverage of the Ayodhya dispute can be followed here and here.
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