The Supreme Court today reserved its order on whether the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute can be settled through mediation. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi observed that it was conscious of the gravity of the dispute and the outcome of mediation on the body politic of the country.

The Court also said that the case was not just about property but, also about sentiment and faith. The top court had asked the contesting parties to explore the possibility of amicably settling the decades-old dispute through mediation, saying it may help in healing relations.

Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.