'Land dedicated for Babri Masjid cannot be sold, gifted'

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPB) emphasised that the land dedicated for Babri Masjid cannot be sold, gifted, or alienated.

Owaisi's reaction came after the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) working committee held a meeting to find a solution to the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.

"The board reiterates its resolution of December 1990 and January 1993 and once again emphasises the basic level of Shariah that the land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted, or in any way alienated. If once dedicated, it vests in Allah," he said.

He added that all the attempts to negotiate the settlements in past have been infructuous and there is no proposal which offers a settlement without sacrificing.

The three-day 26th plenary session of the AIMPB began here on Friday.

The AIMPLB rejected the possibility of any kind of settlement on the issue, stating that such a move would violate the basic tenets of Islam.

AIMPLB secretary and spokesperson Zafaryab Jilani said: "There is no change in our stand. Only SC verdict in the case will be acceptable to the board. We had made our position clear in April also soon after the SC suggested that attempts should be made at for a negotiated settlement. Our position remains the same."

Earlier on February 8, the three-judge Supreme Court bench fixed March 14 as the next date of hearing in Ayodhya case as some of the documents and translations were yet to be filed before the apex court.

The Supreme Court was likely to start 'final hearings' on a bunch of 13 petitions over the 2.7 acres disputed Ayodhya site that is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims.

The petitions before the judges relate to the 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court in the title suit that had been pending for nearly six decades.

The dispute before the court was whether the 2.7 acres of disputed land on which the Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished on December 6, 1992, belongs to the Sunni Central Waqf Board or to the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.

Ram Janambhoomi- Babri Masjid dispute is a century old point of tussle between Hindus and Muslims.

The mosque was demolished by Hindu Karsevaks on December 6, 1992, in Ayodhya. The country witnessed massive riots in which over 2000 people were killed.

The Hindus claim that it is the birthplace of Lord Rama where a mosque was built in 1528-29 CE (935 AH) by Mir Baqi. Since the mosque was built on orders of the Mughal emperor Babur, it was named Babri Masjid.