Ban on Fatwa: Jamiat Ulama to challenge Uttarakhand HC verdict

New Delhi: Terming a recent verdict of Uttarakhand High Court against Fatwa as an infringement upon constitutional and religious rights of the Muslim community, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind’s General Secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani has announced that Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind would appeal against the HC order in the Supreme Court.

It must be noted that the Jharkhand HC while dealing with an unconstitutional order of a village panchayat, pronounced verdict on Thursday banning religious bodies from issuing a fatwa. The HC not only banned such orders from village panchayat but also imposed a blanket ban on the fatwa issued by clerics from Islamic seminaries.

Maintaining that the HC’s verdict contradicts the Supreme Court’s earlier decree about the status of the fatwa, Maulana Madani asserted that fatwa is not binding and enforceable. It is only religious guidance for a person who seeks to know with regard to his affairs.

Caravan Daily has quoted Maulana as saying “As for the recent verdict of Uttarakhand High Court, it was disposed in a single day on a petition of one counsel who cited the Hindi newspaper clip about the case. The honourable judges did not need any enquiry in the case and nor the concerned person was invited. It is fact that that case has nothing to do with any fatwa and it is fully related to the village panchayat. Even the newspaper did not mention any religious mufti or Islam scholar in the context of the matter.”

Maulana Madani said Jamiat would fight this case in the Supreme Court with full commitment and procure the basic religious rights of the community.