Waqf Board's powers will be transferred for six months based on a 1995 law, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's government said. (Press Trust of India photo)
The Delhi government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced that it was stripping the powers of the Delhi Waqf Board, transferring all its duties and responsibilities to the revenue secretary.
In a notification dated October 10, the government said it was exercising powers under the Waqf Board Act of 1995 and "superseding" the board for the next six months.
The chairperson of the Waqf Board, which is the custodian of public properties under Muslim law, called it a violation of a Delhi High Court order.
In an ongoing case, the Delhi government had chosen not to notify the Board's election in January this year as only six of the seven members had exercised their vote.
"There are a total of seven members of Delhi Waqf Board. At the time of my election, there were only six members out of whom four elected me as chairperson of the Board," Rana Parween Siddiqui, chairperson of the Waqf Board, said.
But in an order passed in late April this year, the Delhi High Court had asked the government to maintain status quo over the position of the chairperson until further hearing.
"The notification issued by the government today is a clear case of contempt of court. I will move a separate application in the court regarding this," Ms Siddiqui said.
She said she has filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the notification. The court will hear the case on October 30, she said.
"I received the notification on October 15 and stopped going to Waqf Board office," she said.