The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea to nominate Central and State government representatives to the ‘Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Trust’ for building a mosque in Ayodhya.
A three-judge Bench led by Rohinton Nariman dismissed the petition filed by advocates Shishir Chaturvedi and Karunesh Kumar Shukla.
The Ramjanmabhoomi title dispute verdict of November last year had directed the Centre to allot five acres to the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of a new mosque at a prominent place. The judgment had unanimously handed over the ownership of the disputed land where the Babri mosque stood to the Hindu side.
The petition said that apart from private individuals and members of State Sunni Board, the presence of Central and State government representatives was essential to ensure proper management of the funds.
According to the plea, the Sunni Waqf Board on July 29, 2020 announced the creation of a trust under the title of “Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation” for building a mosque, cultural and research centre and public utility facilities, including a community kitchen, a hospital and a library, within the five acres allotted to it.
It had said there was no provision for nominating any officer of the government. There should be the proper management of the funds and property vested in the trust.
“It is expected that hundreds of people will visit the ‘Islamic Trust’ site and it will get contributions from within India as also from foreign countries,” the plea said.
