Rajasthan HC takes suo motu cognisance of report that judges' bungalows, schools, temples shown as Waqf properties

The Rajasthan High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of reports alleging that judges' official residences, schools, colleges, temples and several other public and private properties in Jodhpur were recorded as Waqf properties in the official records..A Division Bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Praveer Bhatnagar registered a public interest litigation (PIL) petition after examining a Dainik Bhaskar report alleging that various large properties had been entered in the Waqf Gazette and uploaded on the Umeed Portal as Waqf assets despite revenue records indicating otherwise.“The prima facie inclusion of educational institutions, places of worship, judicial residences and numerous residential and commercial properties within the Waqf records, despite the apparent position emerging from the revenue records, raises concerns extending beyond individual disputes concerning title or possession,” the Bench said..In an interim order passed on July 27, the Court ordered that status quo be maintained regarding the ownership and legal status of properties falling within Khasra Nos. 482, 485 and 490 as well as the properties mentioned in the news report. It restrained any mutation, transfer, lease, licence, construction, demolition or other action altering their physical or legal status on the basis of the disputed entries.The Court also directed the District Collector of Jodhpur to preserve all revenue records and conduct a physical verification of the land with photographs and GPS particulars. The Chief Executive Officer of the Rajasthan Board of Muslim Waqf has been directed to produce the complete original record relating to the inclusion of the properties in the Waqf Gazette and on the Umeed Portal.The District Minority Welfare Officer has also been asked to explain the alleged data-entry exercise conducted for the Umeed Portal..Dainik Bhaskar on June 27 is stated to have published a report referring to Khasra Nos. 482, 485 and 490 in Jodhpur (Rural) which were recorded in revenue records in the name of the concerned revenue authority, but have allegedly been denoted to be Waqf property in the Waqf Gazette and on the Umeed Portal.The Bench noted that the properties allegedly shown as Waqf assets include Sohanlal Manihar School, Shah Govardhanlal Kabra College, Kabra Matrushri Kala Mandir, Agarwal Bagichi, Agarwal Mahavir Temple, Satguru Kabir Ashram, Goureshwar Mahadev Temple, Maru Lohar Sikligar Temple, Joonagar Nyati Bagichi, two Nyati Bhawans, Geeta Bhawan, numerous residential and commercial properties. Such properties also included the official residences of sitting Rajasthan High Court judge Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur and former Jharkhand Chief Justice Prakash Tatia..The Court emphasised that public records such as revenue records, statutory registers and digital databases have significant legal consequences and that conflicting entries about the same property cannot be allowed to continue without scrutiny.“Where properties standing recorded in such records in favour of a public authority or other persons are subsequently reflected in the Waqf Gazette or on the Umeed Portal as Waqf properties, any such entry must necessarily trace its foundation to authority of law and to due observance of the procedure prescribed under the Waqf Act, 1995 and other applicable laws,” it said.It added that any unilateral entry affecting the legal character of property without adherence to the Waqf Act and without notice to affected parties would raise serious concerns of arbitrariness and deprivation of property without following the process of law. The Court also noted that while the Constitution of India protects religious rights, it does not permit the State to confer a proprietary character upon property merely on account of a religious claim."Article 25 protects freedom of conscience and the free profession, practice and propagation of religion, while the constitutional scheme neither permits the State to confer a proprietary character upon property merely on account of a religious claim nor allows an otherwise lawful religious endowment to be disturbed except in accordance with law," it said.Considering the nature and magnitude of the properties involved, the Court issued notice to the Union government, State government and local authorities in Jodhpur.Advocates Moti Singh and Abhishek Mehta have been appointed as amici curiae to assist the Court. The matter is scheduled to be heard next on August 11..[Read Order]