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The Delhi Wakf Board had filed an urgent application against the February 8 letter of the Land and Development Office (L&DO) of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affair, wherein, it decided to take over 123 properties of the Board, including mosques, dargahs, and graveyards.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi Wakf Board to 'file a separate petition' against Central Government’s decision to “absolve” the board from all matters related to the 123 properties in the national capital.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri was hearing an urgent application filed by the Delhi Wakf Board challenging a letter dated February 8 of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affair, wherein, it decided to take over 123 properties of the Board, including mosques, dargahs, and graveyards.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra appeared for the Delhi Wakf Board and contended that the Union of India has no source of power to “absolve” the Board from the 123 properties.
On the contrary, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma appearing for the Central Government contended that the prayers of the Board in the application are beyond the scope of the pending petition. He stated that this cannot be done by an application, a substantive writ petition should be filed by the Wakf board.
Refusing to grant any interim relief in the urgent application filed in already pending case, the single-judge bench directed the Delhi Wakf Board to file a separate petition against the Central Government’s letter of February 8 and listed the matter for hearing on August 4.
It is to be noted that on February 8, the Land and Development Office (L&DO) of the central ministry informed the Delhi Wakf Board of the decision to “absolve” it from all matters pertaining to the 123 Wakf properties. The 123 properties included mosques, dargahs, and graveyards. The letter stated that the two-member committee headed by Justice (retired) S. P. Garg on the issue of denotified Waqf properties received no representation or objection from the Delhi Waqf Board in its report.
According to the L&DO letter, the two-member committee was formed by the government of India on the order of the High Court. The letter stated that the committee allowed the main stakeholder/affected party, the Delhi Waqf Board, it did not, however, appear before the committee or file any representations or objections regarding the 123 properties.
"It is evident from the above facts that Delhi Waqf Board does not have any stake in the listed properties, nor have they shown any interest in the properties nor filed any objections or claims. It is, therefore, decided to absolve Delhi Waqf Board from all matters pertaining to '123 Waqf Properties'," the L&DO letter stated.
Case Title: Delhi Wakf Board v. Union of India & Ors.
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