Muslims to appeal in Supreme Court

LUCKNOW - Chagrined over the verdict given by the Allahabad High Court on Ayodhya, the Sunni Central Waqf Board counsel Zafaryab Jilani said he would move the apex court against the order.

Jilani, who fought the case aggressively for 21 years in the high court, said here: “Yes, there is good enough reason for us to make an appeal against the high court verdict as our petition has been dismissed largely on account of being treated as time-barred. Since the court had already ordered status quo for a period of three months I see no reason to hurry.”

The lawyer, who was also convenor of the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC), added, “We still have a strong case as I feel that all the evidence provided by us was not taken into account. After all, when all the judges have accepted that the mosque existed there and that the idol of Bhagwan Ram was stealthily planted under the central dome of the mosque, then how can you hold the title of such land in favour of the trespasser?”

Maulana Khalid Rasheed, the Naib Imam of Lucknows main Eidgah and head of the citys well known Islamic seminary Firangi Mahal, described the verdict as partly positive and partly disappointing.

According to him, the judgement has neither given us any happiness nor sorrow; to the extent that it has acknowledged the existence of our mosque, it is welcome. But the fact that it gives only one-third of the land owned by the mosque, was disheartening.

However, on the question of making an appeal to the Supreme court, the Maulana said: That would be decided by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board executive which is to meet shortly.

Widely known Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawaad was also of the view that the matter should be taken to the countrys apex court. I had always maintained that the high court was not the end of the road, and either way, the issue would reach the Supreme Court for a final decision, that would be acceptable to all of us, Jawaad said.

He said he saw no reason for people to get tense over the verdict and made a fervent appeal for maintaining peace and harmony at all costs.