Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court today issued notice to Uttarakhand Government officials on a contempt petition alleging demolition of a registered Waqf property in violation of a statement given by the Union on April 17 that till the next hearing in the matter pertaining to Waqf Amendment Act, no Waqf's character or status will be changed.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih passed the order, after hearing Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal (for the petitioner), and listed the case alongwith the batch of pleas wherein the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 has been challenged. Notice has been issued to Anand Bardhan, Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, Savin Bansal, District Magistrate, Dehradun, Pratyush Singh, City Magistrate, Dehradun and Namami Bansal, Dehradun Municipal Commissioner.

For context, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's undertaking to the Court, given on April 17, was to the following effect,

"till the next date of hearing, no Waqf, including a Waqf by user, whether declared by way of notification or by way of registration, shall be de-notified, nor will their character or status be changed."

The petitioner's grievance pertains to the alleged demolition of Dargah Hazrat Kamal Shah Dargah, Uttarakhand by way of bulldozers on the intervening night of 25-26.04.2025 without any prior notice or warning. As per claims, the said Dargah was registered as a Waqf property in 1982, notified as a Waqf in Gazette dated 29.03.1986 and mapped in Waqf Asset Management System of India. However, it came to be demolished in an illegal manner on the false claim that it was an unauthorized construction.

The petitioner contends that the impugned action was purportedly taken pursuant to a frivolous complaint made on the Chief Minister's portal. He cites a Hindustan Times report, as per which Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the "state government will conduct a comprehensive investigation into 5,700 Waqf properties registered in Uttarakhand to identify encroachments and ensure strict action where violations are found".

The petitioner also presses into service the top Court's November 2024 judgment in the bulldozer matter, which held that no demolition should be carried out without prior show cause notice returnable either in accordance with the time provided in the local municipal laws or within 15 days time from the date of service, whichever is later. In the said matter, it was further held that even in cases of persons who do not wish to contest the demolition order, sufficient time needs to be given to vacate.

Aggrieved by the state's "overnight demolition" of the waqf in question, the petitioner urges that the impugned action is reflective of the position that Union's undertakings are not binding on state governments. He also asserts that the Dargah has been a revered site of religious importance for the last 150 years and the relevant documents which prove the legality of the property are with him.

Accordingly, the petitioner seeks contempt action against the respondents, including the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary and Dehradun District Magistrate.

The petition has been filed through AoR Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi.

Case Title: MEHFOOZ AHMED Versus ANAND BARDHAN AND ORS., Diary No. 24261-2025