New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the Centre's stand on a petition by the Delhi Waqf Board concerning the government's decision to re-examine the de-listing of 123 of its properties.

“Mr (Kirtiman) Singh appearing for the first respondent (Centre) is requested to obtain instructions and apprise the court of the present status of proceedings which were taken by committees constituted (for re-examination),” ordered Justice Yashwant Varma.

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The petitioner board moved the high court following the constitution of a two-member committee by the Centre even after a report was submitted by a one-member committee on the same issue in 2017.

The central government counsel stated that the petition itself informed that the one-member committee left “all the questions unanswered and inconclusive” which lead to the rejection of the report and said that he would file an affidavit in the matter.

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The court also questioned the parties if the transfer was fructified in the form of a lease deed being executed in favour of the petitioner after the de-listing.

“Let Mr Singh come back with instructions. Let's get some clarity on facts,” the judge said.

In the petition, the Delhi Waqf Board has contended that once its properties have been de-listed in 2014 under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, there is no provision under the law for recalling the order of withdrawal from acquisition.

Senior advocate Sanjoy Ghose, appearing for the petitioner, urged the court to direct the Centre to share the report of the one-member committee.

“The government is holding on to this report. It is not sharing this report and has gone ahead and constituted two more committees. I'm the interested party. Let them supply a copy of the report to your lordship to see what was this report recommending and why the government has chosen to abandon this report and go for the second committee,” he said.

Ghose added that the Centre recently not only appointed the two-member committee to re-examine the status of the 123 properties but also transferred one of them in favour of Indo Tibetan Border Police.

“The whole mala fide purpose of appointment of Committee after Committee is to maintain confusion in respect of the title of the petitioner with regard to these waqf properties... Taking advantage of this, the Union of India has transferred a portion of waqf land comprised in Khasra no. 484, QadeemiQabistan, Village South Inderpat, Mathura Road-the waqf property mentioned at serial no. 8 of the first list of de-notified waqf properties-to 'Indo Tibetan Border Police',” said the petition filed through lawyer Wajeeh Shafiq.

The petition has claimed that the properties in question are “registered and Gazette notified Waqf properties since more than half a century” have never been under the possession or control of the government and never has their religious use been changed or even paused.

It has asserted that the properties are governed by the provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995 which prohibits their alienation.

The Delhi Waqf Board has challenged the transfer of its property to ITBP and sought a direction of the Centre to take a fresh decision on the report of the one-member committee after affording a reasonable opportunity to it to make submissions.

The matter would be heard next on March 9.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)