New Delhi, November 17: The Delhi High Court has given time to the Central Government to complete the survey of 123 properties of the Delhi Waqf Board.
On Friday, the Central Government told the court that out of 123 properties, 75 have been surveyed so far, and it will take another two to three months to survey the remaining properties.
The next hearing of the case will be in April 2024.
During the hearing today, the Central Government said that out of 75 properties, the Land and Development Office has surveyed 40 and the DDA has surveyed 35. During the earlier hearing, the Central Government had opposed the petition filed by the Delhi Waqf Board challenging the Centre’s order regarding taking possession of 123 of its properties.
In the affidavit filed in the High Court, the Central Government said that the Delhi Waqf Board cannot be the owner of these properties but can be the custodian.
The Central Government has said in the affidavit that the Delhi Waqf Board cannot oppose the examination of Waqf properties but should clarify the status of those properties.
The Central Government has said that merely because these properties have been given on lease to some people, they cannot be called Waqf properties. The affidavit states that the Delhi Waqf Board has been established under the Waqf Act.
On March 7, the court refused to order the restoration of the status quo on the orders of the Central Government.
Advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Waqf Board, said that the Central Government has given a very flimsy reason for taking over the properties of the Waqf Board and that the Waqf Board has no interest in these properties. These properties have been investigated at least five times, and each time it was found that they belonged to Waqf. The final investigation was conducted by a one-member committee appointed by the Central Government.
The Centre has decided to take possession of these properties, which the Waqf Board is opposing. The Delhi Waqf Board has filed an application challenging the letter issued by the Centre on February 8, in which it has been said that 123 properties of the Delhi Waqf Board will be taken into possession.
Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Delhi Waqf Board, said that the central government does not have the right to take over the property of the Waqf Board. These properties of the Waqf Board were demarcated in the surveys of 1970, 1974, 1976, and 1984, and the President also gave his consent to the same.
