- (1.) S. K. Phaujdar, J. This application under Section 76 of the U. P. Muslim Waqfs Act (in short, the Act) is directed against the judgment and order dated 7-9-1996 passed under Section 71 of the Act by the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Bulandshahr, in his capacity as the Tribunal constituted under Section 70 of the Act in Reference No. 45 of 1988.
(2.) THE mutwalli of a particular waqf property had allegedly tendered resignation and the Board, constituted under the Act, accepted the resignation and took over the administration of the waqf property. THE Mutwalli, being aggrieved by this action of. the Board, made a reference to the Tribunal constituted under the Act challenging, inter alia, that he had never tendered resignation and the papers purporting to be resignation letters were forged ones. THE Tribunal heard the matter and gave a decision in favour of the mutwalli. THE members of the committee of management appointed under the Act have come up in this revision and the very jurisdiction of the Tribunal to entertain the reference has been challenged. It was urged that there was no removal of the mutwalli under Section 55 (1) of the Act and, accordingly, the mutwalli had no right of reference under Section 55 (2 ). The Tribunal, according to the learned counsel for the revisionists, gets a jurisdiction under Section 71 of the Act over any dispute in question when the question is one which may, under the Act, be referable to the Tribunal. In the absence of a removal, according to the petitioner, a reference to the Tribunal was bad in law and the decision given by the Tribunal is also bad for inherent lack of jurisdiction. The mutwalli had appeared as a caveator and it was contended on his behalf that removal of any kind would be open to reference to the Tribunal. It was a case of de facto removal in the guise of acceptance of a so-called resignation and the Tribunal, accordingly, had every jurisdiction to entertain the reference. Learned counsel for the parties elaborated their arguments with reference to the relevant sections of the Act and to case-laws on these points.
(3.) THE U. P. Muslim Waqfs Act, 1960 (Act No. XVI of 1960, already indicated to be referred to as the Act) was enacted for better governance, administration and supervision of certain classes of waqfs in Uttar Pradesh. Under the Scheme of the Act, it applies to all waqfs in respect of any property situated in Uttar Pradesh and which was under the superintendence of the Sunni Central Board constituted under the U. P. Act No. 13 of 1936. THEre is no dispute that the Sunni Central Board of Waqf had a control over the property concerned in the present dispute. Section 19 of the Act covers functions of the Board which under the Act, for the purposes of this case, is the Sunni Central Board of Waqf. THE Board has the general power to do all things reasonable or necessary to ensure that the waqfs under its superintendence are properly maintained, controlled and administered and the income thereof is duly appropriated to the purposes for which the waqfs were founded and for which they exist. Without prejudice to this general power of superintendence, the Board is also empowered, rather a duty has been imposed on it, to administer the waqf fund and to remove the mutwalli or to appoint a mutwalli, to put the persons who is appointed in possession of the waqf property under the provisions of the Act provided that appointment of mutwalli or making any other management of the waqf property, the board is to-be guided as far as possible by the directions of the waqf, if any, that is, to further the purposes for which the waqf was created. THEse powers also include the right and duty to issue directions under the provisions of the Act to a mutwalli or a committee of management regarding a waqf property. Section 20 speaks of delegation of powers. It is open to the Board under this Section to delegate its powers either to the President or to the secretary or even to any other servant of the Board or to a member. In exercise of this power, the President of the Board has been delegated certain powers including that of appointment of a mutwalli and of assumption of direct management of a waqf under Section 48.;