The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the highest representative body of the Muslims in the country, feels that an out-of-court settlement of the Babri title suits is not possible and the issue should be settled by the law courts.
Though not a party to the case pertaining to the Ayodhya title suit, the Law Board is opposed to the matter being settled through reconciliation and is likely to oppose the judgment deferment petition of Ramesh Chandra Tripathi pending before the Supreme Court, which has fixed September 28 as the date for the next hearing.
The judgment on the title suit was to be delivered by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on September 24, but the verdict was stayed by the Supreme Court on September 23 as it admitted a special leave petition filed by Mr. Tripathi. Clarifying the AIMPLB's position that it was not a party to the title dispute, its legal convenor Zafaryab Jilani told The Hindu that “the decision whether a plea would be filed before the apex court would be taken by the Law Board in New Delhi on September 27.”
“The Board's stand on the Babri Masjid title dispute is unchanged. It is on this ground that the efforts for an amicable solution initiated by the Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Kanchi were rejected by the AIMPLB in 2003. The matter should be decided by the court,” Mr. Jilani said.
The Board is of the view that several attempts at reconciliation in the past have failed and since the case has dragged on for 60 years it is time that a judicial verdict is delivered. Efforts for a reconciliation should be made only after the verdict by the Special Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
