Lucknow, 18 Nov: Muslim leaders in Uttar Pradesh have called the Varanasi district court decisions an “infringement on the authority of the Supreme Court and the Parliament, which have made it crystal clear that no additional alterations may be made at sacred sites in accordance with the Places of Worship Act.”
“The opposition of the Muslim side in the Gyanvapi case was based on the Places of Worship Act, which banned any alteration in sacred places,” stated Maulana Khaliq Ahmad Khan, executive member of the All India Milli Council and former plaintiff in the Babri Masjid dispute. ?It is an Act approved by the Indian Parliament and affirmed by a Supreme Court constitutional bench. And now, a district court is usurping the power of the Supreme Court and Parliament,” he added.
“For the 350 years, Muslims have been offering namaz at Gyanvapi mosque, and now they are being ordered to stop,” said Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali of the Islamic Centre of India. ?The Parliamentary Act on Places of Worship, as upheld by the Supreme Court, cannot be ignored. I demand that both the Hindu and Muslim groups reach an out-of-court settlement through negotiation,” he added. The All India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board’s general secretary, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, has also urged for an out-of-court settlement.
