Pune: In a major jolt to the 238 persons claiming to be owners of land at Survey No 55 in Kondhwa, the Maharashtra State Waqf Board has issued a letter to Inspector General of Registration (IGR), Pune district collector, Land Records Department among others, to cancel all sale deeds related to the land as it is Waqf land.
The CEO of the Waqf Board stated in his letter dated January 21 that no further changes including registration shall be made related to the 46 acres of land, worth hundreds of crores of rupees, at Survey No. 55 without permission of the board.
The letter has also been sent to the Minorities Development Department. The board has cited rulings of the Supreme Court stating that a property classified as Waqf always remains Waqf.
In the last 40 years, about 238 persons bought land there. The land issue is being contested since 1996, when the then members of the Alamgir Masjid Trust, which claims ownership of the Waqf land, appealed in court, asking that it be declared an inam (grant or gift). Their plea was rejected, with the court pointing out that there were numerous unanswered questions pertaining to the land. The trustees were asked to file a suit in the appropriate court, which they never did.
Social activist Salim Mulla, who had obtained documents about the land under the RTI Act, had complained to authorities following which an inquiry has been ordered.
