Delhi High Court: Through a writ case, the petitioner—whose father served as an imam at Masjid Zabta Ganj in Delhi—challenged the eviction order issued by Sub Divisional Magistrate Chanakyapuri. The property was next to the mosque. The Delhi Waqf Board was granted ownership of the aforementioned property. The single judge bench of Pratibha M. Singh, J., ruled that it is against the law for people who take care of public places of worship to convert them into residences and to occupy those residences.
Priests, pandits, imams, caretakers, and their families are attempting to assert rights over these public places of worship in an unlawful and unauthorized way, according to the Delhi High Court, which cited attempts to turn these locations into “private tenements.”
A case concerning a valuable property next to Masjid Zabta Ganj on Man Singh Road close to India Gate was being heard by the high court. Zahir Ahmed submitted a petition asking for the de-sealing of the land next to the mosque.
The Bench ruled that any effort to assert autonomous rights in the property would be illegal because the Imam occupies it on behalf of the Waqf in a fiduciary capacity. Furthermore, it was claimed that the petitioner, the Imam’s son, had allowed others to occupy the land without his consent for many years while he himself had been occupying it. The petitioner “admittedly could not have claimed any rights in the said property and has embroiled the Waqf Board in this long-drawn litigation on a completely false and incorrect premise,” the Bench stated in its observation. Following the aforementioned finding that the petitioner was an unauthorized occupant and an encroachment on the subject land, the petition was declared to be without merit and was therefore subject to being dismissed.
The Court further stated that, “in view of the fact that, admittedly, the Petitioner has been unable to show any title to the property in question and keeping in mind the nature of the property, which is a place of worship allotted to the Waqf, in order to uphold public policy and to curb illegalities of this nature, this Court holds that the Petitioner is lacked title to the property in question.” The Court dismissed the writ petition and ordered the Waqf Board to secure
As a result, the Court gave the following instructions: By means of the Gazette Notification published in accordance with the agreement entered into on July 3, 1945, the Waqf Board shall secure the property allocated to it. The Waqf Board must make sure that no one, including the current Imam, his family, or occupants acting on their behalf, occupied any property that was larger than 0.095 acres. The allotted property must only be used for what it was intended for, which is to house the mosque; no unauthorized use is allowed. The petitioner shall pay a sum of Rs. 15,00,000/- to the Delhi Waqf Board within a period of eight weeks failing which the Waqf Board was permitted to seek enforcement of this order in accordance with law. This is due to the length of illegal occupation of the premises and the location of the property. Additionally, within 8 weeks, Rs. 2,000,000 must be paid to the Delhi Waqf Board as expenses.
The court stated, “Given the facts and circumstances of this case, it is deemed appropriate to direct the concerned SDM along with the Delhi Waqf Board officials to conduct a proper demarcation and make sure that the land occupied by the mosque is in accordance with its allotment and that no one is able to occupy any portion beyond what is permitted. The marking must be completed in 4 weeks.
CASE TITLE: Zahir Ahmed v Government of NCT of Delhi
NAME: SARAH GARIMA TIGGA, SEMESTER VI, COLLEGE: SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL ( PUNE)
