Compliance with the Waqf Act and Rules is essential in granting leases, and the authority of the Managing Committee under Section 18 of the Act is upheld.

ORDER

Ninala Jaya Surya, J. - The writ petition is field for the following relief:

'..to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or direction declaring the action of the respondents in proposing to conduct auction on 28.09.2023 pursuant to Notice F.No.59/Lease/NLR/2020, dated 21.09.2023 for leasehold rights with respect to land of an extent of Ac.33.22 cents belonging to Mohiddinia Masjid situated at Damaramadugu Village, Buchireddypalem Mandal, SPSR Nellore District as illegal, arbitrary, one without jurisdiction and violation of Article 300-A of Constitution of India and Section 56 of Waqf Act, 1955 and Rule 4 of the Waqf Property Lease Rules, 2014 and consequently direct the respondents not to conduct auction proposed to be conducted on 28.09.2023 for leasehold rights with respect to land of an extent of Ac.33.22 cents belonging to Mohiddinia Masjid.'

2. The learned counsel for the petitioners, inter alia, submits that the petitioners are tenants of lands admeasuring an extent of Ac.32.20 cents covered by different survey numbers of Waqf land belonging to 'Mohiddinia Masjid, Damaramadugu Village'. He submits that the petitioners' ancestors and thereafter the petitioners are cultivating the said lands from the year 1970 onwards and paying the leases to the Managing Committee of the said Masjid. He submits that the lease deeds were executed upto the year 2006 and thereafter the petitioners are being continued as tenants without any lease deeds. However, the Committee was collecting Rs.20,000/- per acre. He submits that as the lands are under the cultivation of the petitioners' family members for more than 50 years, representations were made for issuance of Crop Cultivator Rights Cards (CCRCs) and as the same were not issued, the petitioners filed W.P.No.4324 of 2020 and the same is pending. Be that as it may. He submits that the petitioners earlier filed a writ petition No.23670 of 2021, aggrieved by the action of the respondents/District Waqf Officer in proposing to conduct an auction through Notification dated 11.08.2021 and interim orders were granted on 16.10.2021, permitting the respondents therein to conduct auction and that the same shall not be finalized. He submits that the said writ petition was allowed vide Order dated 10.05.2023 and thereafter, the impugned auction notice was issued on 21.09.2023 proposing to conduct auction on 28.09.2023. He submits that the auction sought to be conducted is contrary to the provisions of the Waqf Act, 1955 (for short 'the Act') and the Rules made there under.

3. Elaborating the same, the learned counsel submits that as per Section 32 (2) (j) of the Act, the Waqf Board is competent to sanction lease of any immovable property of a Waqf, in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the Waqf Properties Lease Rules, 2014 (for short 'the Rules) made there under and as seen from the impugned auction Notification, the same was issued by the Secretary of the Managing Committee of the Masjid, who is incompetent and the auction Notification is therefore liable to be set aside. He submits that even assuming, it is only the Administrative Officer, who is running the affairs of the Waqf Board to issue a Notification and he cannot delegate his powers. He contends that as per Section 27 of the Act, the Board may delegate its powers to the Chairperson, any other member or the Chief Executive Officer, such of its powers and duties under the Act, except powers and functions of the Board mentioned under Clauses (c), (d), (g) and (j) of sub-section (2) of Section 32 and Section 10. The learned counsel referring to the Rules, contends that in respect of the short duration lease of less than one year, a 'Mutawalli or Board' may give the Waqf properties on lease, but in the present case, as is evident from the auction Notification, the leases were sought to be granted by the Committee, which has no competency. The learned counsel submits that in fact the Masjid Managing Committee appointe