Hyderabad: Residents of Pallavi Enclave in Guttala Begumpet, Serilingampally, are facing a difficult legal battle. They claim that Section 40 of the Wakf Act, 1995 is being misused, causing disruption in their lives. According to them, this section gives the Waqf Board too much power, allowing it to declare any property as Waqf land by simply issuing a notification without presenting proper evidence of ownership.
The plot owners say that they have been involved in a long legal fight where the burden of proof falls on them, not on the Waqf Board. “All the Waqf Board had to do was issue a notification claiming the land, and we were forced into endless court battles,” they say.
Residents explain that the land in question, Survey Nos. 1 to 9 of Guttala Begumpet Village, originally belonged to the Nizam’s family. It was sold to private parties through an auction and later developed into Pallavi Enclave. Many people have since bought plots and built walls or fences around their property.
However, the Waqf Board stepped in, claiming the land was Waqf property, supposedly gifted by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Despite no clear evidence to support this claim, the Board issued a notification, leading to numerous legal disputes. The High Court eventually dismissed the Waqf Board’s claim, stating that the Board had failed to prove ownership. The court ruled in favor of the landowners and upheld their possession of the land.
After this, the landowners filed review petitions against some of the High Court’s observations. These petitions were allowed in 2016, reinforcing their ownership. However, the Waqf Board continued to appeal the decisions.
The Supreme Court later upheld the High Court’s decision to cancel the Waqf Board’s notification but did not confirm the landowners’ title. It allowed both parties to approach a competent court to settle the matter definitively. The court also gave the Waqf Board the option to issue a new notification if proper procedures were followed.
The Waqf Board issued a new notification, but the landowners challenged it again. In 2020, the High Court overturned this new notification, citing that the Board had not followed the proper legal steps as required by the Waqf Act and the Supreme Court’s directions. The court also noted that the Waqf Board still lacked any evidence to back up its claim, relying only on the unproven assertion that the land was gifted by Emperor Aurangzeb.
Despite this ruling, the Waqf Board has filed another appeal. The case is still ongoing, with the appeals awaiting a final hearing. The Division Bench has not stayed the single judge’s order, so the landowners remain in possession of the property for now.
According to Devendar Reddy Mettu, president of Pallavi Enclave, all official revenue records support the landowners’ case. He points out that the Waqf Board’s claim of an oral gift by Aurangzeb holds no evidence. He also mentions that while government officials privately agree that the land belongs to the residents, they say they cannot take any action because the matter is still in court and is complicated by Section 40 of the Wakf Act.
This legal struggle has gone on for over two decades, moving from lower courts to the High Court and even the Supreme Court. Now, with the Waqf Board invoking Section 40 again, residents fear they will have to endure yet another cycle of litigation. They are urging the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Wakf Amendment Bill-2024 to address the issues caused by Section 40, which they believe is the root of their ongoing troubles.
