Will Expeditiously Dispose Of No-Confidence Motion Against Waqf Board Chairman: Delhi Govt To HC

The city government has told the Delhi High Court that the Delhi Waqf Board Chairman Amanatullah Khan's representations seeking the removal of two members as well as the no-confidence motion against him by them are pending before the competent authority and would be expeditiously disposed of in accordance with the law. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said that in view of the government's stand no orders are required to be passed at this stage and closed the petitions seeking directions for their disposal. While the AAP MLA sought a direction to the authorities to decide his representation dated December 27, 2021, and March 7 for the removal of Parvez Hashmi and Chaudhary Shareef Ahmad, the other petition by Ahmad and others sought directions to the authorities to proceed with the no-confidence motion dated March 4.   

On March 4, four of the seven Delhi Waqf Board members, i.e. former Congress MP Parvez Hashmi, Chaudhary Shareef Ahmad, Razia Sultana, and Naeem Fatima Kazmi, had submitted the notice of no-confidence motion against Khan to the LG's office, levelling allegations of corruption, illegal recruitment and high-handedness against hiM. Khan, AAP MLA from Okhla, has termed the allegations against him as “false”. Clarifying that the respective rights and contentions of the parties are left open, the court said, “In view of the aforesaid, no more orders are required to be passed in the present petitions and the same are disposed of.” “Mr. Sameer Vashisht, learned Additional Standing Counsel (Civil), Govt. of NCT of Delhi submits that the representation(s) as well as 'Notice of No Confidence Motion' are pending before the competent authority and shall be disposed of expeditiously in accordance with the law,” the court recorded in its order dated April 5. During the hearing on Tuesday, the judge observed that the issues raised in the present case have to be looked into by the concerned authority before they are decided by the court. “State government is the first goal-post. How can the court step into its shows.. unless you show that there are malafides,” the court said,  

On being asked about the “timeframe” within which a call would be taken, the Delhi government lawyer said that the authorities should take three weeks to arrive at any decision. Lawyer M Sufian Siddiqui, appearing for Khan, contended that the no-confidence motion was the result of a “political witch hunt”. Advocate Mahmood Pracha represented Shareef and others and defended the notice of no confidence issued against Khan. Last week, the court had ordered the maintenance of the status quo in relation to the notice of no-confidence motion. In the petition, Khan had said the Delhi Waqf Board sent representations to the LG, the Revenue Minister, and the Divisional Commissioner pointing out that Parvez Hashmi has not attended even a single meeting after becoming a member of the board and Chaudhary Shareef Ahmad is disqualified from continuing as a member of the board but no action was taken. The petition had stated that “it is expedient that the State Government should first examine and decide the representations given by the Delhi Waqf Board for removal of its members before taking any precipitous action on the 'notice of no-confidence motion' filed against the petitioner for the solitary reason that if the members instrumental in moving the 'notice of no-confidence motion' are themselves not eligible to continue as members of the board, then the purported 'notice of no- confidence motion would be rendered wholly otiose and as such vitiated.” 

PTI INPUTS