‘Respect judgment, but verdict holds no value for us’

Zafaryab Jilani — secretary All India Muslim Personal Law Board and lawyer representing the Sunni Waqf Board in the Ayodhya land dispute case

Q1. Are you satisfied with the verdict of the Supreme Court on the Ram JanmabhoomiBabri Masjid land dispute?

A. We respect the Supreme Court judgment but the Ayodhya verdict holds no value for us. Five acres has no value for us. We are not satisfied with the verdict. We are unhappy and dissatisfied with this judgment. There are several portions in the judgment. The Ayodhya verdict has a lot of contradictions and some incorrect findings also.

Q2. What will be your future course of action on the issue?

A. We will decide on the further course of action after studying the judgment in detail. We respect the verdict, but the judgment is not satisfactory. It is not a defeat. We will discuss if a review petition should be filed or not. We will file a review petition if our executive committee agrees on it. It is our right and it is in the Supreme Court’s rules as well.

Q3. Do you consider the

Supreme Court judgment to be just?

A. The entire country must respect the dignity of the apex court. However, a mistake could be committed by anybody, and even the Supreme Court had reviewed its judgments on several occasions in the past.

Q4. Will the verdict create a feeling of discontentment in a section of society?

A. The verdict doesn’t signify a victory or defeat for any community. There should be no demonstration of any kind anywhere on it. We urge people to maintain peace and we will take whatever legal recourse we can.

We will decide on the further course of action after studying the judgment in detail... We will file a review petition if our executive committee agrees on it. It is our right and it is in the Supreme Court’s rules as well.