A view of participants

New Delhi, October 8: An in-depth discussion on the far-reaching implications of the Babri Masjid title suit was organised at the Institute of Objective Studies last evening under its permanent programme Shaam-e-Muzakirah (Evening of Discourse).

The programme began with the ceremonial recitation from the holy Quran by Maulana Abdullah Tariq of Idarah Umoor Masaajid. The verse recited tells Muslims to be fair and just and not to exceed the limits of justice in animosity.

The Quranic verse resonated with the current situation of Muslims in India.

The discussion was started by Mr M M Kashyap, advocate on record, Supreme Court of india with a short lecture on the landmarks in the case that has been running for six decades. Mr Kashyap, a highly knowledgeable person on the issues involved, had been pleading the case for years.

He was of the opinion that by basing their judgment on faith rather than on a point of law and evidence the Allahabad High Court judges had violated the legal procedure. He favoured an appeal in the Supreme Court by the Sunni Waqf Board. “At that stage an out-of-court settlement could also be considered”, Mr Kashyap said.

Following the lecture the forum was opened for questions that were answered by Mr Kashyap in some detail.

The participants included Dr Qasim Rasool Ilyas of the Personal Law Board; Mr Mujtaba Farooq of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind; Mr Ansar, a lawyer practising at the Supreme Court; Mr A.U. Asif, editor fanawatch.com news portal; Mr Khursheed Alam Khan, veteran Hindi journalist; and Mr Bismil Arifi, joint editor of Milli Ittihad (Urdu).

The programme was convened and compered by Mr Mushtaq Ahmad, senior counsel, Supreme Court of India, and chaired by Prof. Afzal Wani of Indraprastha University, Delhi.