Ayodhya Verdict: Sunni Waqf Board Accepts Supreme Court Judgment, Won’t File Review Petition

Sunni Central Waqf Board Chairman Zafar Ahmad Farooqui on Saturday said that they accept the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute case and won't file any review petition. "We welcome and humbly accept the verdict of the Supreme Court. I want to make it clear that UP Sunni Waqf Board will not go for any review of the SC order or file any curative petition," Farooqui said while addressing a press conference following the historic judgment. The Sunni Central Waqf Board was one of the three key parties in the communally sensitive case of Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya.

Referring to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s remarks, Farooqui said that the Sunni Waqf Board has nothing to do with anyone willing to file a review petition against the verdict. He said that everybody had said this will be the final verdict and we humbly accept it. He, however, said that the Sunni Waqf Board has not taken any decision on the five acres land proposal by the Supreme Court and the matter will be discussed during the board’s meeting.

When asked about All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s comments on the judgment, he said that the AIMIM chief was not a member of the board, thus, his statement holds no merit.

Also Read | Ayodhya Verdict: Supreme Court Rules Ram Temple To Be Built At Site, Alternative Land For Mosque

In a unanimous verdict, the five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday ruled that the disputed land will be given to Hindus as Muslim party failed to prove possessory title.

The court, however, has directed to allot a separate five acres land for Muslims to build a mosque. The apex court said the mosque should be constructed at a "prominent site".  The site was occupied by the 16th century Babri mosque which was destroyed by Hindu extremists on December 6, 1992.