AYODHYA CASE: AIMPLB HOPES FOR FAVOURABLE VERDICT
BAREILLY/LUCKNOW: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board said on Saturday that it was anticipating a verdict in its favour from the Supreme Court on the Ayodhya land dispute and that the whole world was watching the ongoing court proceedings in the case. Ruling out any scope for mediation for an out of court settlement at this stage, when the court verdict was expected by mid-November, the Muslim religious body said the ‘shariat’ (Islamic) law did not permit any change, alteration or transfer of land belonging to a mosque.
BAREILLY/LUCKNOW: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board said on Saturday that it was anticipating a verdict in its favour from the Supreme Court on the Ayodhya land dispute and that the whole world was watching the ongoing court proceedings in the case.
“It (the court verdict) is a test case for the basic values of secularism in our Constitution. It is needless to say that the ultimate judgement of the apex court will be in consonance with the rule of law and basic values of the Constitution,” said the AIMPLB in press communique.
Ruling out any scope for mediation for an out of court settlement at this stage, when the court verdict was expected by mid-November, the Muslim religious body said the ‘shariat’ (Islamic) law did not permit any change, alteration or transfer of land belonging to a mosque.
“No Muslim can surrender or transfer such waqf land. This submission of Muslims is based on historical facts and evidences that Babri Masjid was constructed without demolishing any mandir or any other place of worship,” according to the communique.
Several proposals were mooted and the Board participated in the mediation process in the hope that a solution based on justice would be found. But after several efforts it was now clear that there was no possibility of mediation /reconciliation and since legal proceedings were in the final stage, there was no possibility of any mediation now, said the release.
Expecting trouble from a section of the clergy in favour of a negotiated settlement on the Ayodhya issue, heavy police force was deployed outside the Nadwa College premises here in Lucknow where the AIMPLB meeting was held. Jamait-e-Ulema Maulana Arshad Madni and general secretary Mahmood Madni also attended the meeting but refused to take questions from the media.
Expressing satisfaction over the way the facts and evidences were put forward before the apex court by its team of lawyers led by senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, the AIMPLB expressed optimism, saying it expected the verdict would go in its favour in the Ayodhya case.
“The honourable Supreme Court will pronounce judgement in favour of Muslim cause, which will be based on rights, fair play and justice,” said the statement. The AIMPLB congratulated its team of lawyers for putting in hard work to defend its case.
The UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, the main representative from the Muslim side in the court case, was a notable absentee at the meeting.
“I did not get any invite for Saturday’s meeting,” said Zufar Ahmed Faruqui, who favours the mediation route and has already attended two such meetings of the mediation panel ever since it was revived by the Supreme Court.
Asked about any change of stand after AIMPLB’s categorical refusal to accept any proposal for an out-of-court settlement at this stage, Faruqui was non-committal. “I have not seen what the AIMPLB has said. So, I will not be able to comment on it at this moment,” he said.
On Uniform Civil Code, the AIMPLB asserted that it would oppose any move to impose a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) by any means or method. On Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019, the AIMPLB said it would challenge the constitutionality of this Act, which banned and criminalised triple talaq, on the ground that it contained several anomalies.
“The Act suffers from inherent contradictions and far from protecting the Rights of the Muslim women, it would, on the contrary destroy marriages and render Muslim women destitute,” it said.