The Wakf Board and the Superintendent of Wakfs have no jurisdiction to interfere with the administration of the properties by the Mutavalli on the ground that he has failed to submit proper accounts or failed to pay the contributions.

ORDER :- According to the averments contained in the affidavit, the petitioner herein, is the Mutavalli of the institution known as Kuppatheruvu Pallivasal in Thanjavur. According to him, the property covered by T. S. No. 33-C Is the only property belonging to the Wakf and the properties covered by T. S. Nos. 33/2 to 33/15 are his private properties. The further case of the petitioner is that some persons inimically disposed towards him moved the Wakf Board in W. A. 41 of 1962 for the framing of a scheme and removal of the petitioner from the office of Mutavalli on the ground of mismanagement and on the ground that the petitioner was claiming adverse to the interests of the wakf. The affidavit further states that the Board was not satisfied with the general allegations of mismanagement against the petitioner, but found one instance of alienation of the trust property as improper and on that basis removed the petitioner from the office of mutavalli. At the same time, the Board, in regard to the properties covered by T. S. 33/2 to 33/15, did not decide the question as to whether they are the wakf properties or the private properties belonging to the petitioner, in view of the amendment introduced to Section 27 of the Wakf Act, 1954, providing for the settlement of the dispute by a civil Court. The petitioner states that he filed W. P. 1603 of 1965 challenging the decision of the Wakf Board removing him from mutavalliship on various grounds and this court allowed the said writ petition on a short ground that there was not enough quorum for the Board to pass the order and thus set aside the order of removal. After the order was quashed, the matter was heard again by the Wakf Board and the Board by its order dated 9th April 1967, which was communicated to the petitioner by the secretary, informed the petitioner that the Board was not going into the merits of the case and it dismissed the petition filed before it, directing the petitioners therein to file a fresh petition, if advised. After this, a second petition, based on the same allegations, is said to have been filed by the Action Committee and the petitioner has filed his counter. The affidavit proceeds to state that the said petition has not yet come up for hearing and the matter is still pending before the Wakf Board in Petition No. 25 of 1967 and at the time the present writ petition was filed on the file of this court, the said petition was posted to 28th July 1968. Though interim orders had been prayed for on the petition before the Board, the Board has not passed any interim orders in the matter and the petitioner has not yet been heard at all. It is under these circumstances, the Superintendent of Wakfs camping at Thanjavur, on 28th May 1968, sent the following notice to the tenants of the properties in question:

"The lands and buildings located in T. S. 33/2 to 33/15 in Gandhiji Road, Thanjavur, and T. S. 1598/1 and 1598/2 in Cutchery road, Thanjavur and the house bearing door No. 15 in Sivaraji Nagar stand registered in the name of the Jumma Masjid (Kuppatherupallivasal) and Thiru T. E. Mohammed Sharif Saheb of Thanjavur who was entrusted to collect rents etc. of the shops in the capacity of the mutavalli of Jumma Masjid has failed to submit proper accounts and pay the contribution amount due to the Board for the past ten years and thus contravened several provisions of the Wakf Act of 1954. Action is being taken to remove him from the Mutavalliship. In the meantime you one of the tenants of the wakf properties are hereby requested not to pay the rent to the said T. E. Mohammed Sharif from the date of this notice and to deposit rent in the name of the secretary to the Special Officer for Wakfs, Madras through one of the banks or through the Wakf Inspector Thanjavur failing which, please note that appropriate legal proceedings will be taken against you to vacate you from the said premises through due process of law. You will also be held liable for costs and me