Judicial verdict will be required in Ayodhya case: CPI(M)'s Brinda Karat

CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karat on Friday said a judicial verdict would be required in the Ayodhya case since one of the mediators has already shown his bias, hours after the Supreme Court referred the decades-old case for mediation.

"The Supreme Court has referred the Ayodhya case for mediation to a three-member committee to be monitored by the court. So far all such efforts for a resolution have failed. The court has set a time framework. Normally mediators are expected to come to a case with an objective and impartial view.

"In this instance one of the mediators, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has repeatedly expressed his view favouring one side. In such a situation it is likely that finally a judicial verdict will be required," she said.

Earlier in the day, the apex court referred the decades-old politically-sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case for mediation by a panel headed by former top court judge F M I Kalifulla for exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement.

The other members of the panel will be spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu, a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said in its order.