india

Updated: Oct 18, 2019 03:30 IST

If there is a settlement in the Ayodhya dispute, it will be a win-win situation for all, an advocate of the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board said on Thursday, a day after the Supreme Court reserved its judgment in the decades-old dispute and some parties in the case indicated that they could come to an agreement if a temple was built on the disputed site in lieu of certain protection for mosques across the country.

“I cannot comment on mediation settlement. But I can say, if there is consensus among all the parties to the case, then it will be a win-win situation and there will be no need for judgment,” Syed Shahid Hussain Rizvi, one of the lawyers of UP Sunni Wakf Board in the top court, said.

On Wednesday, as the hearing in the case came to a close, people familiar with the matter said that the proposal through a mediation panel submitted to the top court effectively offered a possible road map for the court. According to the settlement proposed by the parties, the Sunni Central Waqf Board would be willing to give up its claim on the disputed 2.77-acre land if four conditions were met. First, the status quo of all religious sites in India be maintained as per how they existed at the time of Independence. Second, other existing mosques in Ayodhya be renovated by the government. Third, the Waqf board be allowed to build a mosque at a suitable place other than the disputed site. And fourth, prayers be allowed at several mosques across the country where access is restricted due to norms set by the Archaeological Survey of India.