New Delhi: Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who appeared for Muslim parties in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case, on Tuesday said he has been sacked from the matter on the 'nonsensical' ground that he is unwell.
Dhavan, who posted the information on Facebook, said he is no longer involved in either the review or the case.
"Just been sacked from the Babri case by AOR (Advocate on Record) Ejaz Maqbool who was representing the Jamiat. Have sent formal letter accepting the 'sacking' without demur. No longer involved in the review or the case," he wrote.
"I have been informed that Mr Madani has indicated that I was removed from the case because I was unwell. This is total nonsense. He has a right to instruct his lawyer AOR Ejaz Maqbool to sack me which he did on instructions. But the reason being floated is malicious and untrue," Dhavan added on the social networking site.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, headed by Maulana Arshad Madani, on Monday filed a review petition challenging the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict.
Dhavan later said he didn't want to divide the Muslim parties.
"I have argued the case for all the Muslim parties in a united manner and would like the same way. The Muslim parties should sort out their differences first," Dhavan told PTI.
He said he expressed his opinion on Facebook only after Maqbool went public about him being sacked because he is unwell.
"If I am unwell, then how come I am appearing in courts in other cases," Dhavan said.
"I am committed to the cause and to the Muslim parties but making such a statement is completely wrong," he said.
In a separate December 2 letter addressed to Maqbool, the AOR in the review petition, Dhavan narrated the sequence of events related to drafting of the review plea in the case.
"As promised, I am responding to your call at 10.14 AM today when I was at the doctors, informing me that I have been sacked from further involvement in the Babri case on behalf of your client. We were in agreement that the correct term was 'sacked' and you explained you had no choice in the matter. With humility and respect and the norms of my profession, I accept the sacking without demur," Dhavan said in his letter.
The senior lawyer also wished Maqbool the best for his future endeavour and said, "The cause is bigger than all of us."
A five-judge Constitution bench on November 9 unanimously cleared the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.
A plea seeking review of the verdict was filed in the apex court on Monday by Maulana Syed Ashhad Rashidi, legal heir of original litigant M Siddiq, and the Uttar Pradesh president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. It stated that "complete justice" could only be done by directing reconstruction of the Babri Masjid.
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