A petition filed before the Allahabad High Court has two sisters claiming that the land at Dhannipur in Ayodhya—awarded to the All-India Sunni Central Waqf Board to build a mosque—belongs to them.
Rani Kapoor Punjabi and Rama Rani Punjabi, two Delhi-based sisters, on Wednesday moved a petition before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC, claiming ownership of the five-acre land that was awarded to the All-India Sunni Central Waqf Board by the state government pursuant to the decision of the Supreme Court of India on the Ayodhya title suit in November 2019.
The sisters have claimed that their parents came from Punjab in Pakistan to Faizabad (now Ayodhya). Their father, Gyan Chandra Punjabi, had later been employed with the Nazul department. He had gained a land deed for Rs 1,560 for 28 acres of land in Dhannipur village (Sohawal tehsil). Though his name was part of the land records, the land itself continued to be used by those who had held it earlier. Later, their father’s name was also expunged from the local land records, following which a dispute was filed before the local land consolidation officer.
Athar Husain is the spokesperson of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, the trust overseeing mosque construction. Hussain said, “Our stand is very clear. This land has been awarded by the state on the directions of the honourable Supreme Court. We have paid the necessary stamp duty for it in Sohawal tehsil. About 15 days ago, we received the papers for mutation (transfer of ownership). If now, someone claims ownership of the land, it is a matter to be looked into by the district and local administration.”
When the land had been allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board in September 2020, it was made known that it belonged to the revenue department. Paddy crop had stood on the land then.
Husain said that there was no cause for the foundation to solicit legal counsel at this point. “We will wait for the court’s observations. We have every reason to believe that the land awarded to us is undisputed and free from controversy,” he said.
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There is high possibility that the legal claim on the land is spurious. The state government is unlikely to have awarded any disputed land in such a high-profile matter.
On January 26, a symbolic inauguration of the mosque complex was undertaken by the planting of trees by members of the IIFC and some special invitees. Husain had made it clear that as there was no tradition of elaborate ground-breaking rituals in Islam, high-profile guests would not be invited for the ceremony. However, when the 200-bed multi-speciality hospital, which is part of the complex comes up, everyone shall be invited. The trust is most keen on the completion of the hospital project first.
The matter listed before the High Court is to come up for hearing on February 8.
