Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who represented Muslim parties in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case in the Supreme Court(SC), was sacked from the case by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Tuesday, December 3.

The move comes despite Dhavan filing Jamiat’s review petition against the Supreme Court’s November 9 verdict. The Jamiat, however, on Tuesday night denied Dhavan’s removal and said he would continue to represent the Muslim party and they would apologise for the misunderstanding.

Dhavan, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, said, “Just been sacked from the Babri case by Advocate On Record Ejaz Maqbool, who was representing the Jamiat. Have sent a formal letter accepting the ‘sacking’ without demur. No longer involved in the review or the case.”

Dhavan refuted claims that referred to health reasons behind his removal. In a separate Facebook post, he said, “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 wafted is malicious and untrue.”

On November 9, the apex court had awarded the disputed land to a government trust to build Ram temple and gave a separate five-acre plot in Ayodhya to the Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque.

Jamiat, headed by Maulana Arshad Madani, on Monday, was the first to file a review petition challenging SC’s Ayodhya verdict. However, the Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) had decided against a review petition.

After Dhavan took to social media to announce his removal from the case, Jamiat, in a press statement said that there was some misunderstanding and Rajeev Dhavan is still their lawyer. They also said that they would be apologising to Dhavan for the same.

Meanwhile, Maqbool said that Dhavan was unavailable when the organisation filed the review petition on Monday. “It is wrong to say that Mr Rajeev Dhawan was removed from the case because of his illness,” Maqbool was quoted by ANI.

“The issue is that my client (Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind) wanted to file the review petition yesterday itself. It was to be settled by Mr Rajeev Dhawan. I could not give his name in the petition because he was not available. It is not a big issue,” added Maqbool.

After Dhavan’s announcements, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), came forward in Dhavan’s support.

“Rajeev Dhavan has always been a symbol of justice and unity. AIMPLB will continue its efforts in the Supreme Court under his esteemed leadership,” AIMPLB, on Tuesday, tweeted.

"Rajeev Dhavan has always been a symbol of justice and unity. @AIMPLB_Official will continue its efforts in the Supreme Court under his esteemed leadership".
Spokesman @hmksrahmani:

— All India Muslim Personal Law Board (@AIMPLB_Official) December 3, 2019

“We are indebted to the senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan for his sincere exceptional and incomparable efforts in the Babri Masjid Case. We hope that he would represent us again when the review petition is filed,” said AIMPLB secretary Maulana Umrain.

"We are indebted to the senior advocate Mr. Rajeev dhavan for his sincere exceptional and incomparable efforts in the #babrimasjidcase. We hope that he would represent us again when the review petition is filed".
Says @MaulanaUmrain:

— All India Muslim Personal Law Board (@AIMPLB_Official) December 3, 2019

Last month, Dhavan had triggered controversy for his statement “Muslims have never been responsible for disturbing the atmosphere in the country. Hindus do it.” However, he had later clarified that his intentions were directed at the Sangh Parivar, not the Hindu community. 

He had also come out saying that he was was mistreated, thrown excreta at, and often at the receiving end of verbal slurs during the trial.

Also Read: Abused, Mistreated, Excreta Thrown At Advocate Who Represented Muslim Side In Ayodhya Dispute