AIMPLB questions SC's Ayodhya verdict before Ram Mandir Bhumi Pujan; cites Hagia Sophia

Ahead of Ram Mandir Bhumi Pujan, All India Muslim Personal Law Board has termed the Supreme Court judgment on the Ayodhya land dispute as 'majority appeasing,' 'shameful' and 'oppressive.' This comes right months after the apex court pronounced the verdict ending the decades-old dispute. The top court had dismissed the review petitions of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) citing that there is 'no ground, whatsoever to entertain the same'. 

Despite apex Court's judgment, the AIMPLB cited Turkey's Hagia Sophia which has been recently converted to a mosque as an example and claimed that 'situations do not last forever.' Earlier in the day, the same line has been taken by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

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Turkey's Hagia Sophia was recently converted into a mosque after serving as a museum for 86 years. It was a church for 916 years until the conquest of Istanbul, and a mosque from 1453 to 1934.

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Supreme Court ruling & the Ayodhya dispute

Ending the centuries-old dispute, the Supreme Court on 9 November 2019, delivered a unanimous judgment in the title suit of the disputed area of Ram Janmabhumi to the Hindu parties for the construction of a temple. It also directed the Centre to come up with a scheme within three months to set up a trust which will hand over the outer courtyard and inner courtyard of the site for construction of a temple. Apart from this, the SC stated that an alternate land of 5 acres is to be allotted to Muslims for the liberty of constructing a mosque either by the central govt or the State govt in a suitable and prominent place in Ayodhya.

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Ayodhya case in SC

The five-judge bench was constituted on January 25, 2019, to hear the long-contested Ayodhya dispute. As the case progressed after the Centre handed over disputed Ayodhya site to original owners, the bench created a 3-member mediation panel. On August 2, a day after the mediation panel submitted the report of mediation to the SC in a sealed cover, the SC stated that the mediation had failed and began day-to-day hearings - which ran for 40 days, along with a parallel mediation process continuing.

The SC announced that it would wrap up the hearing on October 17 and announce its judgment by November 17. Finally, on October 16, the Supreme Court concluded its hearing, reserved its order and the mediation panel submitting its settlement report before the Supreme Court after the Sunni Waqf board surrendered its claim over the disputed land in Ayodhya.

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