A review petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against its order to give the disputed land of the Babri masjid in Ayodhya to the Hindus for construction of Ram Temple and an alternate site to the Muslims for the construction of a mosque has been filed in the Supreme Court.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind filed the petition through Maulana Syed Ashhad Rashidi, legal heir of original litigant M Siddiq, on Monday.
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The 2.77 acres of land on which the Babri masjid existed was given to Ram Lalla for the construction of a temple. Constitution bench also directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya to build a mosque.
Ahead of filing the petition chief of the Muslim body Maulana Arshad Madani had told PTI, “The main contention in the case was that the mosque was built by destructing a temple. The court said that there was no evidence that the mosque was built after destructing a temple, the title of Muslims therefore was proven, but the final verdict was the opposite. So we are filing a review as the verdict is beyond understanding.”
On November 14, the working committee of the Jamiat had formed a five-member panel comprising legal experts and religious scholars to look into every aspect of the Supreme Court’s November 9 verdict.
The panel, under the chairmanship of Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani, had looked into the prospects of the review petition against the apex court verdict and recommended that the plea should be filed in the case.
Apart from the Jamiat, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has also said a review petition will be filed before December 9.
However, the Sunni Central Waqf Board has decided against filing a review plea. The Waqf board also said that it was yet to take a call on whether to accept a five-acre plot for a mosque.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday hit out at the AIMPLB and the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind for their decision to seek a review of the Ayodhya verdict, saying they are trying to create an “atmosphere of division and confrontation” after the matter was laid to rest by the apex court.
He also said that for the Muslims, the important issue is not just “Babri (mosque) but barabri (equality)” in areas of education, economic and social upliftment.
The AIMPLB on Sunday asserted that 99 per cent of Muslims in the country want a review of the unanimous Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute.
(with PTI inputs)