In a significant development, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has rejected the Art of Living Founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's fresh appeal for an out-of-court settlement to Ayodhya land dispute case by gifting Babri mosque land to Hindus.
Talking to DNA, AIMPLB Secretary Jafrayab Jilani said that during its meeting on February 9 and 10 in Hyderabad, the Board had already decided to go by the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute case and added that there was no question of any change in its decision.
"The appeal through the letter by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has no relevance now when the Board has already taken a decision on the issue and made its stand clear to all stakeholders," said Jilani.
Jilani said that the Board had also made it clear that once a mosque is built on any land it cannot be handed over to anyone. "We are bound by our Islamic laws and outrightly reject Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's appeal," said Jilani.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has written an open letter to the AIMPLB Chairman and members appealing to consider an out of court settlement to the Ayodhya land dispute fearing large-scale communal violence.
Issuing some sort of a threat, the Art of Living Founder has warned in the letter that "the court verdict would be devastating for the nation in general and the Muslim community in particular and may push the country on the brink of a civil war."