Petition in SC seeks direction for appointment of govt nominee to Ayodhya Mosque trust

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking orders for the appointment of a government nominee to the Ayodhya Mosque trust constituted for the construction of the mosque. According to ANI, the plea was filed by Karunesh Shukla - one of the lawyers from Hindu side in the Ayodhya case, through his lawyer.

A 15-member trust created

For building the mosque and other facilities on the land allotted in Ayodhya by the UP govt on the Apex court's instructions, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has created an 'Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation', a 15-member trust.

In the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid land case, the Supreme Court had, on November 9 last year, directed the Central government to hand over the site at Ayodhya for the construction of a temple and set up a trust for the same. The apex court had further directed the government to allocate an alternative five acres of land at a prominent location in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque to the Sunni Waqf Board.

According to a press release by the Board, "In compliance of the Judgment and order of the Supreme Court of India, in Babri Masjid case, the Government of Uttar Pradesh had allotted 5 Acres of land in village Dhannipur, Ayodhya and the Board had accepted it in February 2020. The Board has created a Trust named, Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation, for building the Mosque and other facilities for the benefit of the general public."

The Trust will have a maximum of 15 trustees, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board being its founder trustee, while Zufar Ahmad Faruqi will be chief trustee/president.

Construction of Ram Temple begins

Meanwhile, the construction of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir began last week and the engineers tested the soil at the site. The shrine will be built by adhering to the country's ancient and traditional construction techniques. It will also be built to sustain earthquakes, storms and other natural calamities.

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Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ayodhya on August 5 to take part in the 'Bhoomi pujan' at Ram Janambhoomi site. Besides, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat among several others were also present at the site for the ceremony.

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(With agency inputs) (Image credits: PTI)