Muslim parties rubbish reports of reaching settlement in Babri Masjid land case

New Delhi, Oct 18: The Muslim parties have denied reaching a settlement by giving up their claim on disputed land in Ayodhya in the Supreme Court.

Rejecting the report that Muslim parties have filed a statement for settlement in the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid case, advocate-on-record Ejaz Maqbool for the Muslim parties, issued a statement denying the settlement claims.

On the final day of hearing of the Ayodhya case, advocate Shahid Rizvi, lawyer of the Sunni Waqf Board, said that a compromise has been arrived in the issue.

Advocate Maqbool said, "We are taken aback by the media reports attributed by Mr Shahid Rizvi, Advocate on record that U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board was willing to withdraw the claim on site of the Babri Masjid".

"This was broadcasted by all the media agencies and newspapers that U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board has agreed to abandon their claim subject to certain conditions. This news was obviously leaked out either by the Mediation Committee or Nirvani Akhara which claim the right on the Mosque or others," the statement said.

It further stated that only limited persons attended the mediation -Dharma Das of Nirvani Akhara, Zufar Faruqui of Sunni Central Waqf Board and Chakrapani of Hindu Maha Sabha. The mediation was difficult in the circumstances when the parties had openly stated that they were not open to settlement, it added.

"The leak to the press may have been inspired by either Mediation Committee directly or those who participated in the said mediation proceedings or participants. (It needs emphasis that such a leak was in total violation of the orders of the Supreme court that had directed that such proceedings should remain confidential)," statement of Maqbool for Muslim parties added.

The timing of the leak to the press and its confirmation by Rizvi on October 17 on the very date when the hearing closed seems to have been well thought out, the statement said.

"Accordingly, we must make it absolutely clear that we the appellants before Supreme Court do not accept the proposal made which has been leaked out to the press, nor the procedure by which the mediation has taken place nor the manner in which a withdrawal of the claim has been suggested as a compromise," the statement added.