The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition which sought a ban on the construction or naming of any mosque or religious structure as “Babri Masjid” in the wake of a vow made by Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir to construct a replica of the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said the court couldn’t pass any direction on the matter, following which Devki Nanda alias Devki Nandan Pandey, a resident of Ayodhya in UP, sought permission to withdraw the petition. Following the request, the bench treated the petition “dismissed as withdrawn”.
Nandan, who appeared as petitioner-in-person in his brief submission, urged the court to direct the Union government, states and Union territories to issue necessary circulars declaring that there shall not be any construction or renaming of any mosque in the name of “Babir Masjid,” “Babar” or any other “invader,” who plundered the country.
The petitioner cited the vow of Kabir in December that he would construct a replica of the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district.
According to the petitioner, such statements are bound to provoke others to similarly build mosques or other religious structures named after Babar or other Moghul invaders.
However, the bench found no reason to entertain the
petition.
Kabir, who was a sitting MLA and a former minister in the Trinamool Congress government, was suspended in December following his call for the construction of a replica of the Babri Masjid. He subsequently floated his own “Janata Unnayan Party”.