HC notice to Karnataka govt. on report about wakf property

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The High Court of Karnataka on Monday ordered issue of notice to the State government on a PIL petition seeking directions to the government to implement the report on ‘Misuse and disposal of wakf properties’, and to conduct a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based on the findings of the report.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order on the petition filed by 83-year-old S.K. Kantha, a former Minister.

“The State has not taken any action against those named in the Commission’s report nor any investigation conducted against them as many of those named in the report are powerful politicians or influential persons across the political spectrum,” the petitioner alleged while seeking probe to be entrusted to the CBI under the court’s monitoring as the State government and its agencies are helpless in acting against those named in the report.

The petitioner has pointed out that the Karnataka State Minorities Commission had submitted a special report on ‘Misuse of wakf properties and their illegal disposal and encroachment’ on March 26, 2012, but the report had remained confidential for several years.

However, the report was tabled before the Houses of the Karnataka Legislature in September 2020 after the government unsuccessfully resisted before the High Court and the Supreme Court against the petitioner’s plea for tabling the report before the legislature, the petitioner pointed while seeking effective implementation of the recommendations made in the report.

Pointing out that the government had referred the Commission’s report to the Karnataka Lokayukta for an enquiry, and the Lokayukta had way back in March 2016 had submitted the report, the petitioner said that the government did not act neither on the recommendations of the Commission’s report or the report of the Lokayukta. The petitioner has also sought a direction to the government to place the report of the Lokayukta before the court.