M P WAKF BOARD Vs. SUBHAN SHAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals involving common questions of law and fact were taken up for hearing together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) One Hazrat Sha Walli was a Peer. He was called Shan Shah-E-Malwa. On his death, a Dargah was established in his memory. Erstwhile Maharaja Holkar Darbar, a Hindu king granted Mafi Inayat Land to the Dargah. Allegedly, the land in question was held to be not forming a part of Wakf in terms of the provisions of the Wakf Act, 1954 (for short "the 1954 Act"). One Munna Bai filed an application for getting her name mutated in respect of the property in question. It was dismissed on 4.2.1967. She thereafter filed an application under Section 25 of the 1954 Act for registering the Dargah as a Wakf. A notice was issued to Subhan Shah and others who were the heirs of the said Hazrat Sha Walli (hereinafter referred to as "the private parties"). They filed their show cause denying and disputing that the property in question was a Wakf property. It was contended that Munna Bai filed the aforementioned application as she was denied her claim to occupy the post of a Mujjawarship. It was further contended:

(3.) On or about 18.3.1968, the properties were declared as Wakf property and the Dargah was registered as Wakf by an order dated 18.3.1968. The private parties application for recall of the said order was rejected by the Madhya Pradesh Wakf Board (for short "the Board") by an order dated 24.6.1968 stating that registration of the Dargah as Wakf was legal. A committee was thereafter constituted by the Board for managing the affairs of the Dargah. Possession of the private parties was allegedly forcibly taken over.