The Delhi Waqf Board is a

statutory body A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...

of the

Government of Delhi The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD; ISO: ) is the governing body of India's National Capital Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also ...

, initially appointed under the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

''Wakf Act 1954''; now the ''Waqf Act 1995''. It exercises control over

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

khankah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufism, Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''rib ...

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

s, hospitals, and any other Islamic ''

waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...

s''. The primary function of the Waqf Board is to ensure its properties and revenue are appropriately managed and used. The Board manages, regulates, and protects the waqf properties by constituting district committees, ''

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

'' committees, and committees for the individual institutions. The Delhi Waqf Board is a statutory body corporate with perpetual succession and a

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. It has the power to acquire and hold property. In the case that more than fifteen per cent of the total number of waqf property is

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

waqf, or the income thereof is more than fifteen per cent, the Act envisages a separate Shia Waqf Board is formed.

Overview of waqf

According to

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

s, the ultimate owner of a waqf property is

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

, not any individual or the government. Any organisation appointed or set up by the government for waqf properties can only manage the waqf, or act as trustee of waqf properties. Once a property is ''waqfed'', it will always remain a waqf property. A wafq is typically an act of charity.

Board members

There are seven members of the present Board: * Mr.

Amanatullah Khan Amanatullah Khan (born 10 January 1974) is an Indian politician and member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party and represents Okhla (Assembly constituency) of Delhi in the Sixth Legislative Assembly of De ...

(Chairman) * Mr. Himal Akhtar (member) * Mr. Azimul Haque (member) * Mr. Parvez Hashmi (member) * Mr. Ch. Shareef Ahmad (member) * Ms. Naeem Fatima Kazmi (member) The

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Board since January 2025, is Azimul Haque.

Composition and first meeting

The members are nominated from different quotas, for e.g. ''mutawalli (caretaker) Quota'', MLA/MP Quota, and Bar Council Quota. In total there are at least six members. After the appointment of members of a newly constituted Board notified under section 13, the Delhi State Government shall, as soon as may arrange to fix, by giving to the members not less than ten clear days' notice, a date for the first meeting of the Board which shall be for the election of chairman.

Controversies

In an RTI filed by Ajay Bose, in 2022 it was revealed that Delhi Waqf Board received over 100 crores in seven years from Delhi Government as Grant in Aid. In 2024, former Chairman, Amanatullah Khan, was arrested by the

Enforcement Directorate The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement and economic intelligence agency of the Government of India. Established on 1 May 1956, it is responsible for enforcing economic laws and combating financial crimes. The ED operates under th ...

for financial irregularities and alleged illegal recruitment of staff within the Delhi Waqf Board during his tenure as the chairman between 2018 and 2022.

Dispute over waqf ownership

In 2023, a dispute arose regarding 123 properties, some of which are located in the

Mehrauli Archaeological Park The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is an archaeological area spread over in the Mehrauli neighbourhood of the South Delhi district of Delhi, India. The park is located adjacent to the World Heritage-listed Qutub Minar and the Qutb complex. The ...

. The properties originate from the time of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

and the Board's predecessor, the Sunni Majlis Auqaf. The properties were

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

as waqf by the Delhi Government in 1970; however, the

Delhi Development Authority The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is a statutory body established under the Delhi Development Act, 1957, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India to "promote and secure the development of Del ...

, and the Land and Development Office of the

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in In ...

contested the gazettal. Following a Union Government review, it was recommended that the properties be retained by the Union Government, and that it establish perpetual leases, with peppercorn rent payable by local

mutawalli A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charita ...

s. Following a legal dispute over ownership, initiated by the Indraprastha Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( Hindustani: दिल्ली उच्च न्यायालय; ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') is the high court in Delhi, India. It was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966. ...

issued a stay order that remained in place until 2011. Following further government enquiries, in 2014 it was decided that the Union Government should hand the 123 properties over as waqf to the Delhi Waqf Board (DWB). The Government removed its claims under legislation. However, on 8 February 2023, the Land and Development Office issued a letter that stated: , the dispute over ownership of the properties was ongoing.

Notes

References

External links

* {{dead-link, date=January 2025 Organisations based in Delhi Religious organisations based in India Islam in Delhi Waqf boards