By Muslim Mirror
The Delhi Police have petitioned the High Court to order the Delhi Waqf Board and the administration of the Banglewali Masjid to disclose documents confirming ownership details and the authorised building plan pertaining to the construction of the mosque at the Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin.
The Delhi Police has asked the board for a directive to produce details of mutation/ownership in the application. The application, filed by DCP (Crime) Rohit Meena, also requested that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi produce the mosque’s approved plans.
The police have also asked the board to show whether the MCD has issued a notice regarding any violations in the mosque’s building plan; whether any action has been taken in this regard; and whether the Markaz building is structurally stable and meets other safety standards.
The case was scheduled to be heard by a single judge bench led by Justice Jasmeet Singh on Tuesday, but it was postponed until November 28.
According to police, the Delhi Waqf Board has claimed possession of the Masjid Banglewali in its capacity as custodian of auqafs/waqf properties.
In another petition, Maulana Mohd Yusaf seeks “reversion of possession of Masjid Banglewali,” claiming that he is a member of the mosque’s managing committee, which is the “rightful owner and possessor of the said property.”
According to the police, neither the Waqf Board nor Yusaf submitted any of the aforementioned documents.
The Delhi Police is seeking evidence that the property is a Waqf property that has been registered in accordance with the Waqf Act, 1995, and that Yusaf has been granted ownership of it in any capacity, including as a registered mutawalli or in any other capacity permitted by the Act.
The Waqf Board claimed that Masjid Banglewali, Madarsa Kashif-ul-Uloom, and the connected hostel located in Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin had been shut since March 2020 in its petition filed in February 2021. The Markaz management is currently the subject of an inquiry in the 2020 case brought by the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch in connection with a violation of Covid standards, according to the Center, who has informed the court that the location has been kept “under lock and key.”
The Waqf Board cannot maintain a claim for possession of a “alleged Waqf property,” which has been granted legitimately to any “mutawalli for administration and possession,” according to the application submitted by the police.
The police have stated that the Waqf Board can only restore any right of direct control of any property upon the cessation of mutawalli, in accordance with the Act’s stipulations. According to them, neither the board nor Yusuf have submitted the necessary paperwork to the HC or responded to letters from the police requesting these facts in order to determine who is the “rightful proprietor” of the mosque.
