Ayodhya verdict: UP Sunni Wakf Board not to file review petition

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Wakf Board (UPSCWB) will not be filing a review petition against the historic Ayodhya verdict issued by the Supreme Court on Saturday. 

“We welcome and humbly accept the verdict of the Honourable Supreme Court. I want to make it clear that UPSCWB will not go in for any review of the Apex Court’s order or file any curative petition. Hence, any statement in this regard, by any individual, lawyer or organisation, which mentions that UPSCWB will go for a review is not in our line,” UPSCWB Chairman Zufar Faruqui said in a statement.

Soon after the verdict was delivered, the Sunni Waqf Board lawyer Zafaryab Jilani had said that they would consider it. “We respect the judgment but we are not satisfied. The judgment is not as per our expectations. After today's order, it looks we will file a review petition. But a final decision will be taken only after consultation with our legal team,” he said.

However, several other bodies are contemplating filing a review petition against the verdict, which allotted the land to the Hindu parties and five acres of alternative land to the Sunni Wakf Board for a mosque.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Executive Member Kamal Farooqui told IANS it was contemplating filing a review petition after studying the judgment.

"This judgment is based on faith, not facts. The apex court used Article 142, which gives it special powers. We did not demand land for land. But you gave us five acres of land in exchange for 67 acres,” Farooqui told IANS.

The five-judge Supreme Court bench ordered that the disputed Ayodhya land must be given to Hindus for a temple, to be built at the site by a trust formed by the Central government. The government has to formulate a scheme on it within three months, and hand over the land to the trust.