Muslims to seek review of Ayodhya verdict

Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday announced that it will file a review petition in the Supreme Court of India (SC) against the Ayodhya land dispute case verdict.

"We have decided to file a review petition in the SC. Since the SC, in its judgement, said that the mosque was not built by demolishing a temple, still the mosque was not given to us.

So, we will file a review petition and ask for what is rightfully ours," Arshad Madani of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind said.

The AIMPLB held a meeting to decide whether it should seek a review of the apex court's verdict. The decision was taken after the Jamiat's highest decision-making body, the working committee, gave its nod for filing the review petition following extensive deliberations involving lawyers and experts.

The panel under the chairmanship of Madani delved into the prospects of a review petition challenging the apex court verdict, a statement by Jamiat said.

The expert panel observed that the judgement was against the Muslim parties and it was not a final judgement as the option of reviewing it is available under the Constitution of India, it said.

In a unanimous verdict on November 9, the top court had cleared the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

The court had also directed the Centre to allot a "suitable" five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh.

The AIMPLB also said that it cannot accept the five-acre plot.

Soon after the verdict, the AIMPLB had expressed dissatisfaction and said that the board was contemplating seeking the judgement's review.

The Sunni Waqf Board, a party in the Ayodhya land dispute, had welcomed the verdict and had said that it will not file any review or curative petition on the verdict.