LUCKNOW: Zafaryab Jilani (73), one of the most prominent faces of the battle of vexed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, passed away at a hospital after a protracted illness, in Lucknow on Wednesday. Jilani, convenor of Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) and executive committee (EC) member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.
He had suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2021 after he slipped in his residence. Ever since, he was not keeping well even after major surgeries. A strong votary of secularism, Jilani represented the Muslim side in Ayodhya title suit case in various courts relentlessly for 45 years till the SC delivered the order to settle the centuries old dispute on November 9, 2020.
An authority on Shariat laws, Jilani was not in favour of Sunni Central Waqf Board’s decision to accept the five acre alternative land provided by the UP government in compliance of SC order for constructing a mosque some 25 km away from Ram Janmabhoomi premises where the Babri mosque stood before December 6, 1992.