Sisters say Ayodhya mosque land theirs, move HC

Delhi-based sisters Rani Baluja and Rama Punjabi filed the writ petition on Wednesday, claiming ownership of the land allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board. They have sought a stay on all construction work on the land

The Uttar Pradesh government will file a reply in the Allahabad high court if needed to a writ petition challenging the allotment of five-acre land for a mosque in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur village, an official said on condition of anonymity on Friday.

Allahabad high court during the Covid-19 lockdown. (File photo)

Delhi-based sisters Rani Baluja and Rama Punjabi filed the writ petition on Wednesday, claiming ownership of the land allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board. They have sought a stay on all construction work on the land.

“The court will decide whether to admit the writ or not on February 8. If the writ is admitted, then the court will list the case for hearing and will decide a date,” said lawyer GS Chauhan.

The Uttar Pradesh government allotted the land in compliance with Supreme Court’s November 9, 2019, verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case.

The sisters have said their father, Gyan Chandra Punjabi, was allotted 28-acre land in Dhannipur when he came to India from Pakistan in 1947 and settled in Ayodhya.

The Sunni Waqf Board launched the construction work on January 26 by hoisting the national flag and planting saplings to mark Republic Day celebrations.

Athar Hussain, a spokesman for the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation constituted for construction, said the government has allotted the land for the mosque and they will follow its instruction.