Hyderabad: The hearing in the Dargah Hussain Shah Wali properties’ case has been completed in Supreme Court. The division bench of the Supreme Court under Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice V Ram Subramanian heard the arguments of both the parties.
On the 6th day of the hearing, the attorneys of the revenue department and the private institutions pleaded to prove the properties as government lands.
During the arguments of the three attorneys, the senior counsel of the Waqf Board Huzaifa Ahmedi intervened in the argument and told the Bench that the government has no concrete evidence to prove that the subject of contention is not the Waqf properties.
Ahmadi reminded the Court that under the Endowment Act 1940 these lands are listed under conditional utility which refers to Waqf. He referred to various documents in support of his argument.
During the argument of the attorneys of the Revenue Department and private institutions, the judges said that they are hearing the arguments of both the parties for the past 6 days and there is no need for any further argument in the case.
However, the Supreme Court bench allowed both the parties to submit their additional proofs in writing till December 9 on the basis of which the court shall deliver its ruling in the case.
Three farmers have withdrawn their case during the hearing stating that they wish to revert to the High Court. The Supreme Court Bench allowed them to withdraw their petitions.
These farmers had staked their claim on 250 acres of the Waqf property claiming that for the past 250 years this property is under the occupation of their family which was allotted to them as jagir.
It is to be noted that the Dargah Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali has a total of 1654 acres and 32 guntas of Waqf land. During the time of unified Andhra Pradesh, different governments allotted these lands to different institutions through the Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.
The land measuring 1226 acres and 29 guntas was allotted in different phases out of which constructions were made on 818 acres while the remaining 428 acres of land is still vacant.
Huzaifa Ahmadi argued the case on behalf of the Waqf Board while Salman Khurshid represented Mutawalli of the Dargah. Senior counsel Ejaz Maqbool has assisted them.