SP MLA urges Maharashtra Waqf board to conduct public hearings

Thane: A Samajwadi Party MLA has urged the Maharashtra State Board of Waqf (MSBW) to conduct public hearings of Waqf institutions instead of holding them inside the chairman's chamber.

SP legislator from Bhiwandi (East), Rais Shaikh, on Sunday said he has written to the MSBW regarding hearings for 184 Waqf institutions.

In the letter, Shaikh said there were 27,000 Waqf properties in the state, of which 11,000 had been legalised.

As per the Supreme Court's verdict in 2022, the MSWB must conduct hearings related to Waqf properties within six months, he said.

He further claimed hearings of 184 Waqf institutions were being held inside the chamber of MSBW chairman Sameer Kazi.

"The Waqf properties belong to the Muslim community, and they have a right to know about them. Therefore, public hearings should be conducted rather than in the chairman's chamber," the legislator demanded in the letter.

The Union government passed the Waqf Act in 1995, empowering the state Waqf Boards to declare Waqf properties. The Waqf board established in Maharashtra in 2002 has declared 11,000 Waqf properties till 2004.

While upholding the MSBW's decision about these properties, the Apex court has also asked it to hear the respondents to determine if their properties are Waqf properties. Hence, hearings for 184 Waqf institutions are being conducted.