Ayodhya verdict: SC dismisses Shia Waqf Board's appeal

The Supreme Court on Saturday dismissed a suit filed by Shia Central Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh, wherein it had claimed that the disputed site in Ayodhya, where Babri Masjid was built in the 16th century by a Shia Muslim Mir Baqi, belonged to them.

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A five-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, “There is an inordinate delay of 24,964 days in the petition filed by their petition against the final judgment of March 30, 1946 of the Civil Judge, Faizabad. The delay has not been adequately explained.”

Shia Central Waqf Board had earlier proposed giving away the disputed portion of land for “unity, integrity and honour” for building a Ram temple. It had earlier said there was no need to refer the matter to a five-judge bench. He said the board was ready to relinquish the claim in the national interest.

Also read — Timeline of Ayodhya Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute

In a statement, the Board chairman Syed Wasim Rizvi said it would accept the judgement in "national interest". He said the Board would not file any review petition, even though the five-acre of land to be given to Sunni Central Waqf Board in place of Babri Masjid should be given to it, since the disputed mosque was built by a Shia Muslim.