High Court stay on construction work on Dawoodi Bohra land in Baramati continues

The civic body had issued stop-work notices after it received a private complaint objecting sale of the said land, which was purchased through a sale deed.

On June 28, last year, the court had restrained the petitioner from continuing construction activity till further orders. Thereafter, the plea was listed before four different benches but did not come up for hearing.

As per a plea filed by Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, through advocate Tushar Sonawane, the community had purchased over 10,700 square metres of land in Baramati in 1952 in the name of the Trust.

A mosque, residential and commercial buildings were constructed on the plot to assist people from economically weaker sections. The structures, which had become over 50-year-old, were in a dilapidated condition and they were in need of redevelopment, the plea said.

The work had started after the requisite approvals were availed from the civic body in March, 2021 and large part of the work was completed till the stop-work notice was issued in April, last year.

The petition claimed that as per the 2011 change report, the Deputy Charity Commissioner had allowed the property in the name of the Trust to be registered. In 2016, the state government had issued circular that all properties such as mosques, burial ground, Dargah and heritage home would be governed by the Wakf Act, 1995.

On June 28, last year, the petitioner had told the bench that the land was Wakf property and therefore the Divisional Wakf officer had written to the civic body that Board’s approval was required and the same was not taken and therefore construction work should be stopped. However, the petitioner had claimed that only the mosque could have been considered as Wakf property and not the other buildings.

“The said properties are not dedicated to Allah/God almighty except the Mosque property but under the deed of trust, the petitioner is entitled to deal with the same for the benefit of the trust & its beneficiaries,” the plea stated. The petitioner said that it could not approach the civil court due to certain provisions of the Wakf law.