Sriram Panchu considers mediation role in Ayodhya case 'a serious responsibility'

Senior advocate Sriram Panchu, named by the Supreme Court as a member of the panel to mediate the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute, on Friday said the court had given him "a serious" responsibility and he would do his best. "It is a very serious responsibility given to me by the Honourable Supreme Court. I will do my best," he said in a brief statement here.

A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, referred the politically sensitive case for mediation on Friday and appointed a three-member panel for the purpose, asking it to complete the process within eight weeks. Panchu, a senior advocate of the Madras High Court, is a pioneer in the mediation movement.

Founder of the country's first court-annexed mediation centre -- The Mediation Chambers -- in the Madras High Court in 2005, he has authored books on mediation, including a comprehensive manual -- Mediation: Practice and Law. Panchu has mediated a number of cases, including the one involving the boundary dispute between Assam and Nagaland.

(With inputs from agencies.)