KHAJA SALAHUDDIN Vs. STATE OF TELANGANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner challenges the validity of proceedings dtd. 28/12/2023, issued by the Respondents, to remove alleged encroachments and initiate action under Sec. 52-A of the Wakf Act, 1995. He contends that the subject lands, granted as Madad-e-Mash Inam to his great-grandfather by the Nizam, are private ancestral properties and not Wakf lands. Occupancy Rights Certificates (ORCs) were issued in 1977 in favor of his father and uncle, based on a No Objection Certificate from the Wakf Board itself, which acknowledged that the lands were not attached to any religious institution. Although these lands were wrongly notified as Wakf property in the A.P. Gazette in 2002, that notification was quashed by the High Court in 2016, and the decision was upheld in appeal. Since then, no re-survey or fresh notification has been issued, and thus, the lands cannot be treated as Wakf property in law.

(2.) Respondent No. 4 filed a counter-affidavit, primarily contending that the writ petition is not maintainable, that the documents relied upon are forged, and that the Petitioner's claims are inconsistent and false. It is asserted that the land is Wakf property (a Qazath Service Inam, which is a religious endowment), and that the Petitioner's family, being mere shareholders (Shikmidars), has no right to possess or claim ownership of the subject property.

(3.) Respondent No. 12 also filed a counter-affidavit, reiterating that the subject lands are Wakf properties (Islamic charitable endowments), granted to support the religious office of Qazi (Qazath), and are not the personal properties of the Petitioner. It is contended that the Petitioner is attempting to illegally claim ownership of the subject lands, and that he has forged and fabricated documents and adopted inconsistent legal stands across various proceedings.