Today, On 27th August, Delhi High Court scheduled a hearing for February 17 to address petitions challenging the Centre’s decision to de-list 123 waqf properties. The Delhi Waqf Board argues that these properties have always been under its control, and the Centre lacks the authority to remove them from its purview.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday scheduled a hearing for February 17 next year regarding petitions filed by the Delhi Waqf Board challenging the Centre’s decision to de-list 123 waqf properties.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav directed both the waqf board and the Centre to complete their pleadings in the interim.
The Land and Development Office (L&DO) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) decided last year to take over these 123 properties, which include mosques, dargahs, and graveyards, based on recommendations from a two-member committee.
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On February 8, 2023, the Deputy Land and Development Officer informed the Board’s Chairman, Amanatullah Khan, about the decision to relieve the Board of its responsibilities concerning these properties.
The Delhi Waqf Board asserts that these properties have always been under its jurisdiction and that the Centre lacks the authority to “absolve” it of them. The board also challenged the formation of the Centre’s two-member committee, which tasked with reviewing the de-listing of waqf properties, despite a 2017 report by a one-member panel addressing the same issue.
In May 2023, the Delhi High Court granted the Centre permission to inspect the 123 de-listed properties, now under the Centre’s control, while ensuring minimal interference in their daily administration by the Waqf Board. The Centre’s counsel informed the court on Tuesday that the survey of these properties is currently ongoing.
The judge also issued a notice to the Centre in response to a related petition filed by Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi and resolved several pending applications seeking interim relief for a stay and maintenance of the status quo.
The Centre previously opposed the Waqf Board’s challenge to the de-listing, arguing that the board no legitimate claim to the 123 properties, which acquired through land acquisition proceedings initiated many years ago.
In its response to the petition, the Centre stated that these properties acquired between 1911 and 1914, compensation was paid, possession was taken, and the land was officially transferred in its favour. It maintained that the Centre has always held possession of these properties, which have been used for infrastructure development.
The Waqf Board, in its petition, argued that the dispute over these properties has been ongoing for more than a century. It claimed that the Centre, in this case, “outsourced” the decision-making process to the committee, which wrongly concluded that the board “has no interest” in the properties, despite the board’s representations. The board further noted that the 123 properties clearly identified through four surveys conducted in 1970, 1974, 1976, and 1984, and later affirmed by the President as waqf properties.