ALL INDIA MUSLIM MAJLIS-E-MUSHAWARAT

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Press Note

Suggestions of the President at the Meeting of the All India Personal Law Board on 17 October, 2010.

All Muslim Organisations & institutions should intervene in the Supreme Court

Personal Law Board should form the Babri Masjid Legal Defense Committee and Create a Legal Defense Fund.

New Delhi: 20 October, 2010, Mr. Syed Shahabuddin, President of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, has issued the following statement

The brief press note issued by the Secretary the All India Muslim Personal Law Board & the Convener of its Legal Cell Mr Y H Muchala, was very inadequate & simply informed the public that the Working Committee considered it to be the right and obligation of the Indian Muslims to challenge the judgment in the Supreme Court as it violates the Constitution and legal norms.

The press note did not mention that this historic meeting was attended by more heads of Muslim organizations of national eminence than in the past. These included the President All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, the General Secretary All India Milli Council, the Amir Jamaat-e- Islami Hind, the President & the former General Secretary Jamiatul Ulema-i-Hind, Amir, Imarat-e-Sharia, Bihar & Orissa, Amir, Imarat-e-Sharia, Karnataka, acting Amir Imarate Islamia, Andhra Pradesh, the Nazim, Darool Uloom Nadwatul Ulema, the Nazim, Darool Uloom (Wakf) Deoband, the President, Fiqah Academy of India, the former General Secretary, Markazi Jamaat-e-Ahle Hadith & Chairman Popular Front of India,. Nor did it mention the various positive proposals & suggestions made by the participants. Nor did it mention that the decision to move the Supreme Court was taken unanimously and that 3 or 4 speakers who had initially expressed some reservation about the placing the matter to the SC accepted the decision of the Board.

            In his intervention Mr Syed Shahabuddin as President of the AIMMM & Convener of the Babri Masjid Movement Coordination Committee stated that this was not an occasion for weeping over the split milk or to apportion blames but to acknowledge that the Muslim Community had been shocked and disappointed by the judgment of the Special Bench, and is committee to formulate a legal action for the restoration of the Babri Masjid and thus to close the door opened by the judgment for the takeover of hundreds of Masjids & Dargahs all over the country. He suggested that considering the importance of the case, apart from the UP Sunni Wakf Board which has decided to file an appeal as plaintiff & other plaintiffs like Mr Hashim Ansari and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board which will undoubtedly intervene, all prominent Muslim organizations, religious denominations, religious seminaries and the Babri Masjid Movement must intervene in the case. Also professional bodies representing lawyers, historians & archeologist and the civil society, in general particularly the progressive & secular elements should challenge the judgment. 

The second suggestion was that in order to formulate a common legal strategy, the Personal Law Board should take the  initiative to set up a Babri Masjid Legal Defense Committee, separate and distinct from its Legal Cell or Committee on Babri Masjid, & invite consisting of top Muslim lawyers and jurists of from all over the country.

Thirdly, the Personal Law Board, with the help of other Muslim organizations, should collect a corpus of at least 10 crores to set the ball rolling. The President of AIMMM, Mr Syed Shahabuddin announced a donation of Rs 10 Lakhs. Thus will be created the Babri Masjid Legal Defense Fund under the Personal Law Board so that the main plaintiffs & interveners may engage best available talent in the country, whatever the cost, both for presentation of their case as well as for argument.

            Other Muslim organizations, if they feel financially handicapped should at least file a caveat in the Supreme Court, reserving their right to seek the leave of the court at the appropriate time for intervention.

 No one opposed these suggestions and generally they were commended by succeeding speakers.

            In order to put into effect the above suggestions, the Muslim Personal Law Board, with other Muslim organization and institutions, should issue a Joint Appeal to the Community for donation as well as approach top lawyers for their cooperation.

The AIMMM also suggest that the Board immediately reconstitute its existing Legal Committee which should study the judgments &  compile the legal information & data base for challenging the judgment & circulate the paper to all other Muslim organizations.

                                                                                                                                    Syed Shahabuddin

President

New Delhi

20 October 2010