Muslim Board discusses SC verdict with Babri litigants

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), an apex body of the Muslims in the country, held discussions with some of the plaintiffs in the Ayodhya case on Friday, a day before its crucial meeting here to formulate its strategy on challenging the Supreme Court verdict in the case.

One of the Muslim plaintiffs, Iqbal Ansari, however, "boycotted" the meeting, saying that he did not want to be part of deliberations to explore a possibility of a review petition in the SC.

Amid the fissures among the Muslim litigants over challenging the verdict as well as accepting the five-acre land for the mosque in Ayodhya, senior Muslim cleric Maulana Salman Nadwi was on Saturday denied entry into Ayodhya and was ''forced'' to return to the state capital.

Nadwi, a former member of the AIMPLB, planned to meet the Muslim community members and clerics in Ayodhya.

Sunni Central Waqf Board counsel and AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani met some of the Muslim plaintiffs to reportedly ascertain their opinion on challenging the SC verdict.

Ansari, who "boycotted" the discussions, said in Ayodhya that he did not intend to file a review petition and was "satisfied" with the verdict.

The AIMPLB will be meeting here on Sunday to deliberate on the issue. AIMIM president Asauddin Owaisi was also likely to attend the meeting.

Sunni Waqf Board chairman Zafar Ahmed Faruqui had already made it clear that the Board would not challenge the SC verdict. "There is no question of challenging the judgement," Faruqui had said.

According to sources close to the AIMPLB, a majority of the Board members were in favour of filing a review petition.

The members also differed on whether to accept the five-acre land for the mosque. Owaisi has already called for rejecting the offer of land.