Muslim body will not challenge Ayodhya verdict

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has decided not to seek a review of the Ayodhya verdict. This is after its lawyer said a review is likely given the “contradictions” in the court order.

“We welcome the Supreme Court verdict in the case. The board has no plans to challenge it,” said Waqf Board chairman Zafar Ahmad Farooqui. “The verdict is being studied thoroughly as of now, after which the board will issue a detailed statement.”
The Waqf Board was one of the main litigants in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case.

The Supreme Court has said that the disputed land in Ayodhya should be given to a government-run trust for constructing a temple. It also said that the Babri mosque was illegally demolished by activists in 1992, and directed the government to allot five acres of land elsewhere for the construction of a new religious structure.

The court cited archaeological evidence of a structure that existed before the mosque on the site to allow the construction of a temple there.

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has said it would not be involved in any call for temples in place of mosques at Varanasi and Mathura.

The Sangh is not involved in agitations… its job is character building. – Mohan Bhagwat, Chief, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

A section of right-wing groups had indicated that their next destinations could be Varanasi and Mathura.

The Vishwanath temple in Varanasi shares a boundary wall with a mosque, while in Mathura, the Shahi Idgah is located next to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex.

The court has said that the order cannot become a precedent for other sites like Varanasi and Mathura. It called the demolition of the mosque “a calculated act of destroying a place of public worship” and added, “It is necessary to provide restitution to the Muslim community for the unlawful destruction of their place of worship”.

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