HC dismisses petition seeking offering of namaz on disputed land

Lucknow : The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday refused permission to a plea to offer 'namaz' at the disputed site in Ayodhya, where once stood the Babri mosque.

The court, while denying the permission sought by the Al-Rahman Trust from Rae Bareli, also fined the petitioner Rs 5 lakh for wasting its time.

The Trust had sought permission to offer 'namaz' in the 1/3rd area allocated to it by a division bench of the Allahabad High Court on September 30, 2010.

The court had ruled that the 2.77 acres of disputed land be distributed in three equal parts: one where Ram Lalla is staying to be given to the Hindu Mahasabha, one share to the Nirmohi Akhada and the remaining share to the Sunni Waqf Board.

A bench of Justices D.K. Arora and Alok Mathur said on Thursday that the petition had been filed for cheap publicity as the Supreme Court had already ordered status quo on the land.

The court also directed the District Magistrate of Ayodhya to ensure that the fine was recovered from the petitioner in time.