 "Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir issue: Shia Waqf board files affidavit on mosque location in Supreme Court")
Seeking that the mosque be built in a Muslim-dominated area maintaining a reasonable distance from Lord Ram’s birth place, the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) on Tuesday filed an affidavit in Supreme Court in the ongoing Ayodhya case even as Shias and Sunnis have been divided over the issue.
Shia Waqf board has filed an affidavit in Supreme Court in Ayodhya case
— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2017
Shia Waqf Board in SC affidavit: Masjid can be located in a Muslim dominated area at a reasonable distance from Shree Ram birth place pic.twitter.com/cRXnsydINS
— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2017
The Board also told the apex court in an affidavit that the Babri Masjid site was its property and only it was entitled to hold negotiations for an amicable settlement of the dispute. The 30-page affidavit assumes significance as it has been filed within few days of the apex court agreeing to fast track the hearing on a batch of appeals challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict on the land dispute in the case. The Waqf Board has sought time from the top court for setting up of a committee for exploring an amicable resolution of the vexatious issue. Assailing the stand of the Sunni Central Waqf Board, it said, “…since Babri Masjid was a Shia Waqf Board property, Shia Central Waqf Board UP alone is entitled to negotiate and arrive at a peaceful settlement with other remaining stakeholders.” “Answering respondent (Shia Board) is also of the view that, to bring quietus, masjid can be located in a Muslim-dominated area at a reasonable distance from the most revered place of birth of Maryada Purshottam Sri Ram,” the affidavit said. The Shia Board is one of the parties in the pending appeals in the apex court. According to
Hindustan Times, on 28 July, in a new twist to the Babri Masjid Ram Janambhoomi issue, the UPSCWB had decided to stake its claim to the disputed site in Ayodhya. The decision to move court laying claim to the disputed property in the temple town was taken at a two-day meeting of the board, which concluded on Thursday. UPSCW chief Waseem Rizvi had said that now that he has been authorised by the board to pursue the matter afresh he would be moving the civil court in Faizabad as well as the Supreme Court in the matter soon. [caption id=“attachment_1833041” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Babri demolition. AFP[/caption] A report by
News 18 said the board had decided to challenge a 1946 court order that awarded the ownership of the Babri mosque to the Sunni Central Waqf Board after a two-day meeting. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has constituted a three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra to hear a batch of petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute case from 11 August. The bench, whose other members are justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer, would adjudicate the dispute over ownership of Ram Temple-Babri Masjid land. On 21 July, the Supreme Court had said it will decide on a plea for an early hearing of appeals challenging the Allahabad High Court order directing the splitting of the disputed site at Ayodhya. “We will take a decision on it,” a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud had said as BJP Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy sought early hearing of the matter pending before the court for seven years. The Allahabad High Court had in 2010 directed that the Ayodhya site, where the Babri Masjid once stood, be split between Nirmohi Akhara, the Waqf Board and the Ramlala, who were all claimants. With inputs from agencies
