Delhi Waqf Board

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Delhi Waqf Board
PredecessorSunni Majlis Auqaf
Type Statutory body
PurposeManagement of Islamic waqf
Location
Origins
  • Wakf Act 1954(since repealed)
  • Waqf Act 1995
Region served
Delhi NCT
Owner Government of Delhi
Administrator
Shri Ashwani Kumar, IAS
CEO
Shri Azimul Haque, IAS
Parent organisation
 Central Waqf Council

The Delhi Waqf Board [a] is a statutory body of the Government of Delhi, initially appointed under the Indian Wakf Act 1954; now the Waqf Act 1995. [2] [3] It exercises control over Islamic mosques, dargahs, mausoleums, khankahs, madrasas, hospitals, and any other Islamic waqfs . The primary function of the Waqf Board is to ensure its properties and revenue are appropriately managed and used. The Board manages, regulates, and protects the waqf properties by constituting district committees, Tehsil committees, and committees for the individual institutions. [4]

Contents

The Delhi Waqf Board is a statutory body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. It has the power to acquire and hold property. In the case that more than fifteen per cent of the total number of waqf property is Shia waqf, or the income thereof is more than fifteen per cent, the Act envisages a separate Shia Waqf Board is formed. [2] [5]

Overview of waqf

According to Islamic laws, the ultimate owner of a waqf property is Allah, not any individual or the government. Any organisation appointed or set up by the government for waqf properties can only manage the waqf, or act as trustee of waqf properties. Once a property is waqfed, it will always remain a waqf property. A wafq is typically an act of charity.

Board members

There are seven members of the present Board: [6]

The Chief Executive Officer of the Board since January 2025, is Azimul Haque. [7]

Composition and first meeting

The members are nominated from different quotas, for e.g. mutawalli (caretaker) Quota, MLA/MP Quota, and Bar Council Quota. [8] In total there are at least six members. After the appointment of members of a newly constituted Board notified under section 13, the Delhi State Government shall, as soon as may arrange to fix, by giving to the members not less than ten clear days' notice, a date for the first meeting of the Board which shall be for the election of chairman. [9]

Controversies

In an RTI filed by Ajay Bose, in 2022 it was revealed that Delhi Waqf Board received over 100 crores in seven years from Delhi Government as Grant in Aid. [10]

In 2024, former Chairman, Amanatullah Khan, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for financial irregularities and alleged illegal recruitment of staff within the Delhi Waqf Board during his tenure as the chairman between 2018 and 2022. [11]

Dispute over waqf ownership

In 2023, a dispute arose regarding 123 properties, some of which are located in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. [12] The properties originate from the time of the British Raj and the Board's predecessor, the Sunni Majlis Auqaf. The properties were gazetted as waqf by the Delhi Government in 1970; however, the Delhi Development Authority, and the Land and Development Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs contested the gazettal. Following a Union Government review, it was recommended that the properties be retained by the Union Government, and that it establish perpetual leases, with peppercorn rent payable by local mutawallis. Following a legal dispute over ownership, initiated by the Indraprastha Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Delhi High Court issued a stay order that remained in place until 2011. Following further government enquiries, in 2014 it was decided that the Union Government should hand the 123 properties over as waqf to the Delhi Waqf Board (DWB). The Government removed its claims under legislation. However, on 8 February 2023, the Land and Development Office issued a letter that stated: [13]

“… the DWB has been absolved of all matters pertaining to the 123 properties listed as waqf properties… ”

— Land and Development Office, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, February 2023.

As of January 2025, the dispute over ownership of the properties was ongoing. [14]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Sometimes Delhi Wakf Board.

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References

  1. ↑ "Zeenat-ul Masjid". Indian Islamic Heritage. n.d. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  2. 1 2 "The Waqf Act 1954". Central Waqf Council . Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Danyal, Kahkashan Y. (2015). The Law of Waqf in India. New Delhi: Regal Publications. p. 60. ISBN   9788184844726.
  4. ↑ "EXPLAINED: What is a Waqf board, and what are its governing principles?". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  5. ↑ Gupta, Rajeev (26 September 2022). "Waqf Act,1995: A Tool given to Waqf Boards to snatch the property of Hindus?". The Times of India . Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "AAP's Amanatullah Khan Elected As Chairman Of Delhi Waqf Board". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "L-G approves appointment of Delhi Waqf Board CEO, slams AAP for 'casual' approach". The Hindu . 4 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "8 to be elected unopposed as Sunni Waqf Board members". The Indian Express. 6 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  9. ↑ "Ministry of Minority Affairs". www.minorityaffairs.gov.in. Government of India . Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. ↑ Thapliyal, Nupur (10 May 2022). "High Court Extends Time Given To Delhi Govt For Filing Response Regarding Functioning Of Waqf Board, Release Of It's Grant In Aid". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  11. ↑ Paul, Rohit (18 April 2024). "AAP Alleges MLA Amanatullah Khan Arrested By Enforcement Directorate". NDTV. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "No legitimate Waqf Board properties will be demolished in Mehrauli Archaeological Park: DDA to HC". Indian Express. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  13. ↑ Ahmed, Syed Khalique; Beg, Anwarulhaq (16 December 2023). "The truth about 123 Waqf properties in Delhi the Central government wants to acquire" (Includes a list of the 123 contested properties). India Tomorrow. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  14. ↑ Salam, Ziya Us (21 September 2023). "Explained | What is the tussle between the Central government and the Delhi Waqf Board?". The Hindu . Retrieved 9 January 2025.

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