The State Government's authority under Section 63 of the Wakf Act, 1954, is limited to issuing directions to the Board and does not extend to directly removing a Mutawalli.

LALIT MOHAN SHARMA, J.

1. The petitioner is the Mutawalli of a Public Religious and Charitable Institution known as Soghra Wakf Estate. It is stated in the writ application that one Bibi Soghra had dedicated extensive property by a registered document D/- 30-9-1896 embodying the terms and conditions of the wakf created thereby and laying down the scheme for its management According to the document, the administration and management of the property vested in the Muttawalli, who has to be assisted by two Naibs and Committee. Subsequently, a new scheme for the management of the wakf was framed by the District Judge, Patna. by his decision in T.S. 12 of 1919. It is, however, not necessary to give the details of the scheme except mentioning that the Mutawallis right of administration and management was reaffirmed. The Bihar legislature passed an Act for the purpose of general supervision of the wakf within the State of Bihar, which was known as Bihar State Wakf Act. 1947, whereunder a Board known as Bihar Sunni Majlis-e-Awqaf was formed. The Majlis was vested, by the Act, with the authority, supervise the proper function of the Sunni Wakf and the present Soghra Wakf Estate is one of them and it continued to do so till 7th April, 1973 when the Bihar Act was replaced by a Central Act. The Wakf Act, 1954 . The petitioner who was earlier the first Naib of the Wakf Estate has been its Mutawalli since 26-12-72. On the death of the earlier Mutawalli. Under the provisions of the Wakf Act, 1954 (The Central Act) a new Bihar State Sunni Wakf Board came into existence and started functioning from 12th April, 1974. Soon thereafter the Committee which had been formed for assisting the petitioner Mutawalli was superseded and an Ad Hoc Committee was constituted by an order of the State Government passed in its Law Department. The Ad Hoc Committee suspended the petitioner. The Special officer of the Bihar State Sunni Wakf Board, on being moved by the affected parties set aside the constitution of the Ad Hoc Committee, but maintained the suspension order of the petitioner. The petitioner, thereafter, approached this Court in its writ jurisdiction by filing C.W. J.C. 2074 of 1777, which was allowed on 9-3-1978. The order of the suspension of the petitioner was quashed and he was allowed to join as Mutawalli. The petitioner has imputed bad faith on the part of the Chairman of the Wakf Board and has alleged that subsequently without making any legal enquiry, he got the petitioner dismissed by a resolution of the Board dated 5-6 application in this Court under Art.226 of the Constitution, which was registered as C.W.J.C. 2691 of 1978 (Pat). By order dated 17-7-1978 passed by us, the order of dismissal of the petitioner was set aside and the petitioner again joined the office of Mutawalli. Thereafter, the impugned order as contained in Annexure-3 dated 31-8-78 was passed by the State Government appointing an Executive Officer for the Wakf Estate for the purpose of management of the property, finance and administration of the Estate. The petitioner was informed through a letter of the Secretary to the Government, Law Department, dated 31-8-1978, a copy whereof has been annexed to the writ application as Annexure-4, that the respondent No. 3 Shri S.M. Shafiuddin had been appointed as the Executive Officer. By the present application, the petitioner has prayed for quashing of the orders mentioned in Annexures-3 and 4.

2. Mr. Ashgar Hussain, learned counsel for the petitioner, has contended that the Chairman of the Wakf Board i.e. prejudiced against the petitioner and had earlier unsuccessfully attempted to remove the petitioner from the office of the Mutawalli without any just cause. The resolution of the Board dated 5-5-1978 referred to above, had been passed without any enquiry in the conduct of the Mutawalli and after the same was quashed in C.W.J.C. 2691 of 1978 (Pat), a fresh attempt is being made by passing the impugned order to the same effe