Acquired 123 Properties Being Claimed By Delhi Waqf Board In 1911, Used Them For Infrastructure Building: Centre To Delhi High Court

The Union Government has told the Delhi High Court that it acquired the 123 properties, possession of which is being claimed by the Delhi Waqf Board, between 1911-1914 and the mutation of the properties took place in the name of Government of India

The Union of India has opposed the grant of interim relief sought by Delhi Waqf Board in its plea challenging the government’s decision to “absolve” the board from all matters pertaining to 123 properties.

Calling the petition “wholly without merit” which should be “rejected at the threshold”, the Union of India in its short affidavit has said that the Delhi Waqf Board has no stake in the 123 properties and no intention to substantiate its claim qua them.

The government has submitted that the properties were subject matter of the land acquisition proceedings between the years 1911 and 1914, after which they were acquired by the Union of India, compensation was paid, possession was taken and mutation was carried out.

“…admittedly, the property so acquired were thereafter used for the purposes of creating infrastructure and buildings etc. that are now identified as the Urban scape of Delhi. It is, therefore, submitted that the allegation on behalf of the Petitioners that they have always retained possession is clearly misconceived,” the response states.

Furthermore, the Union Government has said that Waqf Board has time and again “attempted to seek a restraint” on the Two Member Committee from functioning which has been repeatedly rejected by court.

It has also been submitted that merely because certain properties were given on lease to various persons does not ipso-facto mean that they will be converted into Waqf properties.

“It is ex-facie apparent, therefore, that the Petitioner has no interest whatsoever in the said properties, inasmuch as it has not even cared to appear before the Committee and place on record its objections. In the circumstances, the letter dated 08.02.2023 merely states the obvious i.e. that ex-facie the Petitioner has no say whatsoever in the so called Waqf properties that are the subject matter of consideration by the Two member committee,” the response reads.

In the petition filed through advocate Wajeeh Shafiq, the Delhi Waqf Board has argued that Union of India's power to take any such action is not traceable to the Waqf Act. The enactment is a complete code unto itself governing all the Waqf properties and has an overriding effect, the Board has said.

The Waqf Board has also argued that the Union of India has given "flimsy reasons" that the Waqf Board did not show any interest in the properties as it did not file any objections before the two-member committee, which was constituted to look into the matter.

The Waqf Board has also said that the impugned decision has been communicated to it on February 13 a letter dated February 08 without putting the report or recommendations of the Two Member Committee in public domain and without sharing any other particulars.

The dispute related to the properties has been pending for decades. The properties include mosques, dargahs and Muslim graveyards. In 1984, the Union of India itself had issued an order for transfer of the properties to the Waqf Board but the decision was challenged by Vishwa Hindu Parishad. In August 1984, a division bench of the High Court granted status quo regarding the properties. In 2011, the petition was disposed of with a direction to the Union of India to take a decision in the matter.

According to the Waqf Board, the Ministry of Home Affairs in March 2014 withdrew these 123 properties from the acquisition and decided that they shall revert to the original owner.

The decision was challenged by Indraprastha Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the court directed the Union of India to take an appropriate decision after giving an opportunity of hearing to all the stakeholders, particularly the Waqf Board. "It was also directed that till such time, the status quo obtaining as on 20.08.2014 with regard to the possession of the land in question shall be maintained," the Board said in the petition.

In 2016, a One Man Committee was constituted to hear the stakeholders in the matter. It is stated to have submitted a report in 2017. According to the Waqf Board, a copy of the report was not shared with it.

According to the Waqf Board, it learnt about the constitution of the two-member committee only in December 2021 and approached the high court. "Thus, even one is to assume that the said Two Member Committee had some statutory basis, though it had none, then also, it is not a case where the petitioner was lax in seeking its remedies and this fact was within the knowledge of the respondent no. I [Union], being the respondent no.l in Writ Petition ..., which petition is still pending as a consequence of the repeated adjournments sought on behalf of the respondent no.1," it has said in the petition.

Title: Delhi Waqf Board v. Union of India