MEET THE MEDIATORS: A JUDGE, A SPIRITUAL LEADER AND A SENIOR ADVOCATE

JUSTICE F M I KALIFULLA

Born on July 23, 1951, Justice Kalifulla is the son of former judge Justice M Fakkir Mohamed. Justice Kalifulla enrolled as an advocate in 1975, and started practicing chiefly as a labour law advocate. Twenty-five years later, he was elevated to the Bench and appointed a permanent judge at the Madras

High Court. In 2011, he was transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, where he presided as the acting Chief Justice. Later, he was appointed the Chief Justice of the same high court. He presided there for close to four months, before being elevated to the Supreme Court in 2012. He retired in 2016.

SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

The 62-year-old spiritual leader Ravi Shankar, often referred to by his disciples as Sri Sri or Guruji, was born in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu, to Visalakshi Ratnam and RS Venkat Ratnam. In 1981, he established Art of Living, a non-government organisation that is today synonymous with his activities as a spiritual teacher. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, in 2016.

SRIRAM PANCHU

Sriram Panchu is a Chennai-based senior advocate, who is considered by many as an expert of mediation and dispute-solving. The founder of the Indian Centre for Mediation and Dispute Resolution and Concord Mediation, he has been mediating cases since 1990. He created India’s first court-annexed mediation centre — a model replicated all over the country. Apart from mediating in the border-dispute between Assam and Nagaland, he also mediated in international commercial matters. The three-member panel, led by former Supreme Court judge Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, has eight weeks to complete the mediation proceedings. It also comprises spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu. The panel will submit the first progress report within four weeks of commencement of the process. A look at the profiles of the members of the panel: