Ayodhya title suit: Sunni Wakf Board approaches Supreme Court

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 14,: The Sunni Wakf Board on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits, contending that the judgement is based on faith and not on evidence.

The Board submitted in the appeal that the judgement dividing the 2.77 acres of disputed land into three parts among Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhara is not acceptable to it.

"We have challenged the verdict of the High Court on the ground that the High Court has committed an error in holding that the building was at the place of birth of Ram," the Board said in its petition.

The title dispute on Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid structure has already reached the Supreme Court with Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) challenging the Allahabad High Court’s verdict and Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha filing a caveat to pre-empt any ex-parte order on the Ayodhya title dispute.

Challenging the verdict of the High Court’s Lucknow bench, the JUH too had submitted in the appeal that the judgement is based on faith and not on evidence.

"It is humbly submitted that the mosque was illegally demolished. However, the ruins still exist. The foundation of the mosque is still intact. Title would not extinguish by demolishing the mosque.

"Therefore, it was incumbent on the court to uphold the rule of law and not to validate an illegal act," the appeal filed by Anis Suhrawady of JuH had said.

"It was nobody’s case in the High Court that the Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhara were in joint possession of the disputed premises. The claims of the three sets of plaintiffs were mutually exclusive in the sense each set of plaintiffs claimed the entire property as its own and no one sought a decree for partition of the property," the appeal had said.

A three-judge bench of the High Court had passed three separate judgements on September 30 but the majority verdict held that the area covered by the central dome of the three-domed structure, where the idol of Lord Rama is situated, belongs to Hindus.

While two judges were of the view that the entire disputed land should be divided into three equal parts, each to be given to Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and the parties representing ’Ram Lalla Virajman’ (seated Baby Ram), one of the judges had held that the entire disputed area belonged to Hindus.

Earlier, a Delhi MLA Shoaib Iqbal had also filed the appeal in the apex court but the Supreme Court refused to entertain it saying the petition "is misconceived. Hence dismissed."