Lucknow: Clerics and priests here have appealed to people to honour the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Babri Masjid dispute and respect religious sentiments.
The judgment in the case is expected to be pronounced before Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi retires on November 17.
“We should all respect the judgment. We should exercise restraint and not hurt religious sentiments of any community,” Imam of the Lucknow Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali told PTI.
He said an all-religious meeting was recently organised at the Islamic Centre here to discuss several aspects before the judgment.
“The Ayodhya case is the biggest and most sensitive case of independent India. Hence, it is the responsibility of every citizen to honour the verdict and maintain peace,” Mahali said.
He appealed to all clerics to tell Muslims “not to feel afraid and repose their faith in the Constitution and the judiciary.
Spokesperson of the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) Maulana Yasoob Abbas said ,”Every person irrespective of any religion must honour and respect the judgment of the Supreme Court.”
“We have full faith in the judiciary and the Constitution of India. We will stand with the judgment of the apex court. People should talk about development of their homes, cities, state and nation and not be swayed away by religious sentiments,” he said. Priest at the Dakshinmukhi Hanuman Mandir in Hazratganj Sarvesh Shukla said, “My only appeal to the people is to honour and respect the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case.”
“I am confident that people of this country are quite mature, and they will accept the judgement delivered by the court,” he said.
Father Donald De Souza, Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Lucknow told PTI: “Ours is a functional democracy, and rule of law has to be followed by all. The court’s judgment has to be fully respected by everyone without any bias. This is called ‘sanskaar’.”
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by the CJI had reserved the verdict on October 16 after concluding the 40-day-long hearing in the politically sensitive case.
Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

Press Trust of India