On February 17, 2023, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs posted notices outside 123 properties in Delhi, stating that they are no longer considered properties of the Delhi Waqf Board.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The Land and Office of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has issued a notice to Jama Masjid in the national capital near Parliament building. The notice states that the masjid would be inspected on Monday (August 28), in accordance with a Delhi High Court order.
The notice was issued on the basis of the recommendation of a two-member committee on denotified Waqf properties. Accordingly, the ministry decided to assume control of 123 properties owned by the Delhi Waqf Board, including mosques, dargahs, and graveyards.
Amanatullah Khan, the board’s chairman and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator from Okhla, has received a letter from the ministry notifying him about the decision, media reports said on Wednesday.
Reportedly, a notice was pasted on the New Delhi Jama Masjid’s wall on Friday evening directing the “occupant of the property to maintain preparedness and submit documents/maps to substantiate their claims during the inspection on Monday.
Muhibullah Nadwi, Imam of the Jama Masjid, has claimed that there was no threat to the mosque adding that there are valid documents. Nadwi also invited the media to be present during the inspection of the mosque, reports said.
In May this year, the Delhi High Court refused to put a stay on the inspection of 123 Delhi Waqf Board properties by the Central government. The decision came after a petition was filed to stop the inspection challenging the Central government’s decision to absolve the Waqf Board of matters pertaining to the concerned 123 properties.
On February 17, 2023, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs posted notices outside 123 properties in Delhi, stating that they are no longer considered properties of the Delhi Waqf Board.
The properties include mosques, dargahs, and a cemetery. Prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, these properties were given to the Delhi Waqf Board by the Congress-led UPA government. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) raised concerns about the prominent locations of these properties and approached the court.
A one-member committee and a two-member committee comprising a retired SDM and a former Delhi High Court judge were formed to hear the affected parties. The committee recommended a physical inspection of the said 123 properties.
