Allahabad High Court Issues Notice To Attorney General, Advocate General On PIL Challenging Waqf Act

The Allahabad High Court has issued notices to the Attorney General of India and the Advocate General on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea moved before it challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf Act, 1995. The matter has been listed as fresh on December 15, 2022.

Essentially, the bench of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice J. J. Munir is dealing with a PIL Plea moved by Ashish Tewari and others seeking directions from the Court to declare that a notification, order, decision, or rule issued under the Waqf Act would be non-applicable to the properties belonging to Hindus or members belonging to non-Islamic communities.

Further, the plea also seeks the quashing of certain provisions of the Waqf Act as being violative of Articles 14, 15, 25, 26, 27, and 300-A of the Constitution.

The plea contends that certain provisions (being challenged) grant special status to Waqf properties, at the same time, denying the same status to Trust, Mutts, Akharas, and Societies, and thus, the plea argues, they confer unguided and unchecked powers to Waqf Boards to register any property as Waqf property.

"In the impugned Act there is no safeguard for Hindus and non-Islamic communities to save their religious and private properties from being included in the list of Waqf issued by the Government or by the Waqf Boards and Hindu, and therefore, other religious communities are being discriminated and the impugned provisions violate Articles 14,15,25,27 and 300 A of the Constitution of India," the plea states.

The plea also argues that certain provisions (Sections 4, 5, 36, and 40) of the Waqf Act are not in conformity with Article 14 of the Constitution of India as in such provisions, no proper safeguard has been provided against the inclusion of any property as waqf property. It has also been submitted that the 1955 Act doesn't comply with the principles of natural justice, as no sufficient provision has been made therein to give the opportunity of being heard to the affected persons who want to oppose the inclusion of the property as Waqf Property.

Also, while referring to Section 40, a provision that authorizes the Waqf Boards to make an inquiry in respect of any land to find out whether the property is Waqf property or not, the plea states that in case, Waqf Board has reason to believe that any property of Trust or Society is a Waqf property it may call upon the Trust or Society to show cause as to why such property be not registered as Waqf property. The decision of the Board is final and subject to any order passed by Tribunal.

"Thus the fate of properties of Trust or Societies are subject to the will of the Board and in other words, they have been placed as Subordinates to Waqf Boards, which is absolutely in violation of the provisions contained in Article 14 15, 26 and 300-A of the Constitution of India," the plea adds.

Significantly, the plea claims that in the last 10 years, Waqf Boards have rapidly captured the lands of others and declared those properties as Waqf property.

Case title - Ashish Tewari and others v. Union of India and others [PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 1922 of 2022]

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