New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Ayodhya mediation panel to continue negotiations to develop a consensus between Hindu and Muslim parties on the temple dispute issue.
The apex court also urged the mediators to continue the court-monitiored process confidentially till July 31, as it would apparently enable the top court to pass further orders.
The report will be submitted in the apex court on August 1.
If required, the Supreme Court will tentatively fix the hearing of appeals on Ayodhya issue from August 2.
The row over the land in the city of Ayodhya, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, has resulted in violent sectarian clashes and thousands of deaths since the 1947 declaration of independence.
Its escalation in December 1992 when the Mughal-era Babri mosque was demolished by a mob of Hindu zealots was especially wrought with communal tensions, and triggered a wave of nationwide riots that permanently altered the social and political landscape of the country.
