All-India Muslim personal Law Board (AIMPLB) regretted the decision of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind to sack Rajiv Dhawan as its counsel for filing a review petition in the Supreme Court against its judgement on Ayodhya title suit. Dhawan had represented all the seven Muslim litigants in the apex court.
Hafiz Mohammed Siddiqui was one of the original litigants in Ayodhya case but after his death, Jamiat general secretary Maulana Arshad Madani became the litigant. Jamiat is one of the seven litigants in the Babri case.
Two litigants — UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and Iqbal Ansari — have already announced that they will not file a review petition. However, AIMPLB will retain Dhawan as its counsel and the board is representing four other litigants in the petition.
The latest fissures in the Muslim side surfaced days after the UP Sunni Waqf Board said it would not be filing a review petition to challenge the Ayodhya verdict that gave the disputed land in Ayodhya to Hindus for the construction of Ram temple. The board is yet to decide on accepting the 5-acre land.
“It was a collective decision of all the litigants from the Babri Masjid side that Rajiv Dhawan would be our counsel for filing the review petition in the Supreme Court. It’s an unfortunate decision by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind to disengage a noted lawyer like Dhawan and we regret the mistake,” AIMPLB secretary Zafaryab Jilani said in Delhi on Tuesday.
Jilani further said, “The draft of review petition is ready and as soon as its approved by Rajiv Dhawan, the petition will be filed in the Supreme Court.’’
Asked whether the Muslim side was divided over the issue, Jilani said: “Media reports about incidents of Muslim side hiring different lawyers do create doubts among the common people and those who are not directly involved feel that something is wrong among the Muslim litigants.’’
The AIMPLB said, “It’s the greatness of Rajiv Dhawan that he has not disassociated himself from the cause of Babri Masjid. Dhawan has been there since 1993 and during the 40-day hearing in the Supreme Court in September/October, he took up no other case and charged no fee.”
Hours after Dhavan’s announcement, AIMPLB, which will file review pleas on behalf of other individual Muslim litigants in Ayodhya case, tweeted that it would continue to fight under Dhavan’s leadership.
“Rajeev Dhavan has always been a symbol of justice and unity. AIMPLB will continue its efforts in Supreme Court under his esteemed leadership,” spokesperson Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said.
Meanwhile, AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Wali Rahmani said the contribution of Dhawan in the case had been extraordinary. He said that the way he argued in Supreme Court was excellent and praiseworthy despite him being abused by a section of people and a filthy campaign being carried out on social media.