Babri Masjid in Ayodhya
File photo: Babri Masjid in Ayodhya being demolished on December 6, 1992. Image Credit: AP

Dubai: India’s top court on Thursday directed a mediation panel to submit its final report on the Ram temple-Babri mosque case on July 31.

Sources told Gulf News that the panel will hold a final meeting with Muslim litigants and stakeholders in Lucknow on Sunday and will then meet Hindu litigants in Ayodhya.

The Supreme Court had appointed a high-powered panel comprising a former judge, a lawyer and spiritual guru to attempt an out-of-court settlement in the century-old dispute.

On July 15, Gulf News exclusively reported that Muslim litigants are ready to give up claims on the site where the Mughal-era Babri mosque once stood till it was demolished by Hindu zealots in 1992.

On Thursday, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi accepted a progress report on this mediation process and directed the panel to submit its final report by July 31.

“We remain optimistic and today’s ruling is an indication that the court is satisfied with the progress made so far,” a source who is familiar with mediation process told Gulf News.

The mediation panel was set up in March after Hindu and Muslim litigants challenged a 2010 high court order dividing the controversial piece of land measuring 2.77 acres into three parts.