Thaindian News

Lucknow, Oct 5 (IANS) Virtually derailing efforts at a possible reconciliation, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board Tuesday said it is all set to take the Ayodhya legal battle to its logical next stage - the Supreme Court.

An announcement to this effect was made by board chief Zufar Ahmad Farooqui after a meeting here.

“At a meeting of the board here today, we have resolved to file an appeal before the Supreme Court,” Farooqui told mediapersons.

“I am the sole spokesman of this board and nobody other than me is authorised to speak on behalf of this organisation,” he said.

The meeting was attended by nine of the 13 members of the board.

Soon after the Allahabad High Court’s verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute Sep 30, board counsel Zafaryab Jilani expressed his intention to appeal against the court’s verdict.

The high court decision seeks to divide the disputed 90 feet by 120 feet plot of disputed land into three equal parts among three litigants — the Sunni Wakf Board, Hindu sect Nirmohi Akhara, and Ram Lalla (the ruling deity at the site).

There were six Muslim contestants including the board, whose stand was opposed by 90-year-old litigant Mohammad Hashim Ansari.

Ansari was the first Muslim litigant to seek restoration of Babri Masjid to Muslims in December 1949.

Ansari Sunday met Mahant Gyan Das, who wields considerable influence not only in Ayodhya but also among top Hindu priests, and urged him to jointly work out an amicable settlement of the Ayodhya issue.