Gauhati High Court quashes plea against encroachment of Waqf properties in Assam
Guwahati: Gauhati High Court has dismissed a writ petition which has raised a grievance that Waqf properties in Assam have been encroached on by various persons and the concerned authorities are not taking adequate action for removal of the encroachment.
The High Court while dismissing the writ petition said that the petition had been filed without proper research and the same is based only on vague and bald allegations.
The matter was heard by the division bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice N. Unni Krishnan Nair.
In the order, it has been stated that “A person who files any petition in public interest, is supposed to do proper research and place relevant and cogent material before the Court for the public cause. All these elements are missing in the present writ petition. Hence, we are not inclined to entertain this writ petition in the form of public interest litigation and the same is, therefore, dismissed.”
According to reports, the petitioner raised the grievance that the Waqf properties in Assam have been encroached on by various persons and the authorities concerned are not taking any action for the removal of the encroachment.
The counsel appearing for the petitioner said that the petitioner moved representations to the Chairman of the Assam Board of Waqf, the Chief Executive Officer of the Assam Board of Waqf and the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Assam, Welfare of Minorities and Development Department.
The Gauhati High Court said, “From the perusal of the said representations, it is clear that the petitioner has complained about Waqf property belonging to Golam Rahman Waqf Estate only and has not raised any grievance about the Waqf properties of the entire state of Assam, which are allegedly encroached by the encroachers.”
The High Court dismissed the writ petition on the ground that the same had been filed without proper research and on the basis of vague allegations.
However, the court observed that if the petitioner has any grievance, he can move a representation before the Chief Executive Officer of the Assam Board of Waqf with proper details and sufficient material.