Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, among others oppose decision
LUCKNOW: The Sunni Central Waqf Board will meet here on Tuesday to discuss the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict, amid reports that its members are divided on whether to file a review petition against the judgment.
The meeting is also expected to discuss whether to accept a plot of land that the judgment said must be given to Muslims to build a mosque, Waqf Board chairman Zufar Farooqui said Monday.
After the five-judge bench delivered its historic verdict on the Ranjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute, Farooqui had come out against filing a review petition. But some board members went public against the stand.
“The members can discuss the issue during the November 26 meeting. I have been authorised to take a decision on behalf of the board but if any member has an objection to it, he can raise it in the meeting scheduled on November 26 here,” Farooqui had said.
In a unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court had paved the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya. It also directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.
“It has to be seen whether the board can refuse to take the five-acre land for the construction of a mosque as ruled by the Supreme Court. Will it amount to contempt of court? The board has started taking legal opinion on this point,” he had said.
Farooqui said there were divergent views within the eight-member board on the matter and the number of those suggesting that the plot should be used for some “constructive work” to give a message to the world is “very low”.
Earlier, the All India Muslim Personal law Board (AIMPLB) said a review petition will be filed against the judgment.
It is also against accepting an alternative site to replace the mosque that was demolished in Ayodhya in 1992.
Prominent citizens oppose decision
About 100 prominent Muslim citizens from across the country, including actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, on Monday opposed the decision by some litigants to file a review petition challenging the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict, saying that keeping the dispute alive will harm the community.
Members of the Muslim community who signed the statement include Islamic scholars, social activists, lawyers, journalists, businessmen, poets, actors, filmmakers, theatre personalities, musicians and students among others, a statement issued by the group said.
“We share the unhappiness of the Indian Muslim community, constitutional experts and secular organisations over the fact that the highest court in the land has placed faith above law in arriving at its decision,” the statement said.
“But while agreeing that the court order is judicially flawed, we strongly believe that keeping the Ayodhya dispute alive will harm, and not help Indian Muslims,” it said.
The signatories include Shah, Azmi, film-writer Anjum Rajabali, journalist Javed Anand, among others. (PTI)
