Allahabad HC Directs Centre, UP Govt. To Decide Upon Establishment Of Single Wakf Board In The State [Read Order]

The order was passed in a PIL filed by one Masarrat Husain, seeking issuance of writ of mandamus to the Centre and the State government, to pass appropriate orders for setting aside two separate Wakf Boards in the State of U.P. and to constitute one "Muslim Wakf Board" for the entire State, in consonance with the provisions of Section 13(2) of the Wakf Act, 1995.

Section 13(2) of the Wakf Act stipulates that the State Government is empowered to establish separate Wakf Boards for Shia and Sunni sects respectively, only upon the satisfaction of either of two contingencies i.e.

• either the number of Shia Wakf in the State are more than 15% of all Wakfs in the State; or
• the income of the properties of the Shia Wakf in the State constitutes more than 15% of the total income of properties of all Wakfs in the State.

It was contended by the Petitioner that in the scheme of the Wakf Act, a single Wakf had been envisioned and it was only in the above mentioned circumstances, that separate Wakfs could be established. It was further submitted that none of the above mentioned conditions were complied with in the State of UP and hence establishment of separate Wakf Boards was unwarranted.

Without making any observations on merits, the bench of Justices Alok Mathur and Pankaj Kumar Jaiswal disposed of the matter with directions to both the Centre and the State to decide upon such disbandment.

The Petitioner was represented by Advocates Ishita Yadu and Harsh Vardhan Mehrotra, the Centre by Standing Counsel QH Rizvi.

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