K.P. JAINULLABUDEEN AND OTHERS Vs. THE TAMIL NADU WAKF BOARD, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY SANTHOME, MYLAPORE, MADRAS AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the Writ Petitions have been filed by the same petitioners. In the first one, the petitioners seek to quash an order of the Tamil Nadu Wakf Board dated 8th March 1975 in I.A. No. 6 of 1972 in W.A. No. 10 of 1972. In the other, the petitioners have prayed for a writ of prohibition prohibiting the Wakf Board from proceeding further with W.A. No. 10 of 1972. Since both the petitions relate to the proceedings in W.A. No. 10 of 1972 pending before the Wakf Board and are bared on the same facts, they are dealt with together. Respondents 2 to 6 in both the writ petitions had filed the application in W.A. No. 10 of 1972 before the Tamil Nadu Wakf Board, the first respondent in both the writ petitions, purporting to be under Ss. 15, 43 and 44 of the Wakf Act to remove the petitioner from management of the properties mentioned in the application, and to settle a scheme for the proper administration of the Wakf known as "Madrasa -dul -Mahmudis, Aravakurichi", and for certain other reliefs. The petitioners who claimed to be the descendants of the Wakif in management of the Wakf ever since the death of the wakif, raised a contention that respondents 2 to 5 are not entitled to maintain an application under S. 44 of the Wakf Act and that, therefore, the application filed by respondents 2 to 5 which is mainly under S.44 cannot be maintained.

(2.) The said point was considered by the Wakf Board as a preliminary issue and was rejected by its order dated, 8th March 1975, with the following observation :

(3.) The undisputed facts of this case are that the petitioners' ancestor, one Kadar Mohideen Rowther, created a Wakf in the year 1908 dedicating about 100 acres of lands and some shop buildings situate in the village of Aravakurichi for running a school for religious instruction established by him in the same village, for providing books to poor students of the said school, for providing funeral expenses of the poor, for meeting the expenses of Haj Pilgrims, for giving aims to the poor fakirs during Ramzan and for Providing the marriage expenses of poor girls etc., that those Wakf properties are in management of the petitioners herein and the 6th respondent. There is of course controversy between the parties as to whether the objects of the wakf are being carried out by the petitioners or not. Respondents 1 to 5 filed the above application before the Wakf Board complaining that the petitioners are not performing any of the objects set out in the Wakf deed, that they are misappropriating the funds and income of the Wakf, that therefore should be removed from the management of the properties and a scheme for the proper management of the Wakf should be settled, and that the petitioners should be called upon to account for the income and expenditure of the Wakf at least for 12 years preceding the date of the application and to deposit the amount found due from them to the account of the Wakf. The said application has been filed under Ss. 15, 43 and 44 of the Wakf Act. In their application respondents 2 to 5 had claimed that the muslim public and in particular the muslims of the village are the beneficiaries under the Wakf, that one of them is the president of the Jumma Mosque of the same village and another is the Member of the managing committee of that mosque and that therefore, they are entitled to complain about the non -performance of the charities.