UP Shia leader files review petition in SC to scrap verses from Quran

New Delhi: Former Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chairperson, Syed Waseem Rizvi has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court urging it to reconsider the verdict, in which the apex court declined his plea for deletion of 26 verses from the Quran.

In the review petition, Rizvi has argued that the issue related to national security was not taken into account by the apex court before dismissing the plea.

In the plea, Rizvi had alleged that the 26 verses violate the law of the land and promote extremism.

On April 12, a bench of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, BR Gavai, and Hrishikesh Roy had rejected his plea terming it "absolutely frivolous."

The top court had also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner.

Rizwi, in his plea, alleged that the 26 verses “promote violence”, and were not part of the original Quran, but were added in later revisions, and should hence be removed from the holy book.

He sought a declaration from the apex court to hold those verses unconstitutional, non-effective, and non-functional.

On March 11 soon after filing the petition, there have been protests against Rizvi in many parts of the country. Also, many complaints were lodged against him in many police stations, including one by a BJP leader in Jammu and Kashmir, and one in Bareilly in UP.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had already issued a notice to Rizvi asking him to withdraw his comments on Quran failing which, it said, will hold a hearing and direct authorities to take appropriate legal action against him. (UNI)