Arshad Madani said the debate in the court is over, now we await judgment.

Highlights Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict is expected before November 17

Debate in the court is over, now we await judgment: Arshad Madani

RSS, the BJP's ideological mentor, had held a meeting with Muslim clerics

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Arshad Madani on Wednesday said the upcoming judgment in the Babri Masjid-Ram Temple title suit case should be based on facts and evidence and not on faith and belief. Appealing to the people of the country to maintain peace and harmony, he said his organization will respect the verdict even if it is adverse.

Arguments in the decades-old politically sensitive case have been concluded and the verdict is expected before November 17, when Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi retires.

"Every justice-loving person wants the case to be adjudicated on the basis of hard facts and evidence, not on the basis of faith and belief," Mr Madani was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

"The debate in the court is over, now we await judgment. Our lawyer Rajeev Dhawan has made a very strong argument based on facts and we are confident that the decision will be in our favour. We have said time and again, the country is ours, the law is ours and the Supreme Court is ours. We have given evidence. Whatever judgment is made, we will respect it," added the chief of Jamiat, which is the largest organisation of Muslims in the country.

Mr Madani's remark comes a day after the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP's ideological mentor, held a meeting with Muslim clerics in Delhi, stressing that peace should be maintained under any circumstance.

"A historic dialogue was held today in which Muslim intellectuals and clerics participated. At the meeting, it was stressed that all efforts should be made to strengthen the unity and brotherhood in the country under all circumstances," Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was also present at the meeting, said on Tuesday.

The dispute involves 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya, which right-wing activists believe was the birthplace of Lord Ram. A 16th Century mosque - said to have been built by the Mughal Emperor Babur -- which stood at the spot was razed in December 1992 by right-wing activists.

With inputs from PTI