Delhi Waqf Board says Centre can’t take over its properties

More than a month after the central government absolved the Delhi Waqf Board (DWB) of all matters pertaining to 123 properties in the city, the latter has told the Delhi high court that the Centre did not have the power to do so as the properties have been in their possession for more than 120 years.

This comes two days after Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said that the ownership of the 123 properties, including mosques, dargahs and graveyards, lies with the Centre.

Arguing against the February 8 order of the Land and Development Officer (L&DO) on Wednesday, senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Waqf board, told the court that it is the key stakeholder of the properties, and that there was “non-application of mind” in the decision taken by the authorities to denotify the properties.

“There is complete non application of mind. Where do you (Centre) have the material to state that we (Waqf Board) do not have a stake on the 123 properties? We have been the owner of these properties from the last 120 years. Why change or alter the situation which has been like this for decades?” Mehra said.

Referring to a news report, Mehra added that the government has called for physical inspection of each of the properties, and the properties have not been allotted for other purposes.

The hearing in the matter will continue on Thursday.

In the February 8 letter to DWB, the L&DO of the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MOHUA) said that the board does not have any stake in the properties as it did not appear before a two-member committee constituted by the Centre on the issue of ownership rights of the 123 properties.

“The ownership of the 123 properties already vests with the Government of India (61 with Land and Development Office and 62 with Delhi Development Authority), therefore, question of seizure of these properties does not arise. This list of 123 Properties owned by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Land and Development Officer (L&DO) is at Annexure,” Puri said in the Parliament on Monday .

However, DWB chairperson and AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan said that all the properties were used by Muslims, and that their “waqf character is innate”. The central government granted giving ownership of the properties to DWB in 2014.