BIG: Ayodhya mediation committee issues order after first day of proceedings. Read it here

The Supreme Court-appointed mediators in the Ayodhya case have issued an order following the first day of their discussions with stakeholders at the Awadh university at Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh.

The order, which lists the names of the three mediators - retired Supreme Court Justice Kalifulla, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Sriram Panchu - reads as follows:

The Chairman and the Members of the Mediation Committee appointed by the Honourable Supreme Court of India for resolution of Ramjanmabhoomi/Babri Masjid dispute had assembled for the First meeting at 10:30 am at Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, to start the Mediation proceedings. Notices had been issued to all the parties to the different Civil Appeals pending in the Honourable Supreme Court and to their advocates as well. The Committee heard all the parties who attended the proceedings.

The Committee brings to the notice of all concerned, the observation of the Honourable Supreme Court of India, which is to the following effect:

"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."

Further, the Committee directs that there should not be any reporting of the mediation proceedings in the print or other media.

It was on March 8 that the Supreme Court had ordered a time-bound 8-week mediation into the decades-old dispute, appointing the three-member panel and setting Faizabad as the location where the mediation would be held.