The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on whether the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute can be adjudicated through mediation.On February 26, the top had said it would pass an order today on whether to refer the matter to a court-appointed mediator.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the contesting parties to explore the possibility of amicably settling the decades old dispute through mediation, saying it may help in "healing relations".

Mediation will further push back any possibility of an early beginning of the construction of the Ram temple, which the right-wing groups have been eager about in view of the coming national elections. There have also been calls to bypass the judicial process through an ordinance of executive order by the government.