The Supreme Court will on Thursday will take up a plea for early hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, reported Bar and Bench. The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, is likely to decide on the mediation in the matter.

One of the original litigants in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case had moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking an early hearing. The plaintiff, Gopal Singh Visharad, claimed that no progress had been made by the mediation panel. A three-judge bench, headed by Gogoi agreed to look into the matter.

On May 10, the Supreme Court had granted an extension to the mediation panel that is holding deliberations to resolve the Ayodhya land dispute. The panel had requested an extension until August 15, which the court had accepted.

The top court had then said that if the mediators were optimistic about the results then it saw no harm in granting additional time. The five-judge division bench, which granted the extension, was also headed by Gogoi.

Retired Supreme Court judge FMI Kalifulla is the head of the panel, which also includes spiritual leader Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu. It is supposed to hold deliberations with the concerned parties and come up with a decision.

The land in Ayodhya has been disputed for several years now, with both Hindu and Muslim groups claiming their right to it. The Babri Masjid stood on the conflicted land before it was demolished in 1992 by Hindutva activists.

In 2010, the Allahabad High Court had ordered the land to be divided in three. It had divided the land equally between the Nirmohi Akhara, the Sunni Wakf Board and the representative for the deity Ram.