The main legal point established in the judgment is the replacement of the Scheme Court by the Waqf Board as per Section 32 of the Waqf Act, 1995, and the requirement for the Official Trustee to comply with the Official Trustees Act, 1913 in transferring the management of the Trust properties to the Waqf Board.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer in W.A.No.1339 of 2022: Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent, against the order dated 10.12.2022 made in W.P.No.2504 of 2021 by the Learned Single Judge of this Court.)

Common Judgment:

D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, J.

A. The Appeal:

Writ Appeal No.1339 of 2022 is filed against the order of the Learned Single Judge, in W.P.No.2504 of 2021, dated 10.12.2022, in and by which the Writ Petition filed by the petitioners/appellant herein, challenging the order of the Waqf Board dated 04.11.2020, thereby taking over the management of the Trust Estate of M.K.P.Maracayar and Masid Moqdoomi Waqf, George Town, Chennai District, under the direct management of the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board, for a period of one year, was dismissed on the ground that aggrieved parties are entitled to file an appeal to the Government under Section 65(2) of the Waqf Act, 1995.

1.1 Original Application No.410 of 2021 is filed by one of the lineal descendants of the maker of the Trust in C.S.No.314 of 1930, which is the scheme suit by which the subject matter Trust is administered, with a prayer to grant an interim injunction against the respondents 2 to 17 therein, from interfering with the administration and management of the above said Trust.

1.2 Original Application Nos.240 & 318 of 2021 are also filed by yet another lineal descendant Hajee A.M.Farook, with the same prayer. The Association of Worshipers and Well Wishers of “Masjid – e – Moqdoomi”, have filed Application No.1175 of 2021 in C.S.No.314 of 1930, to direct the first respondent/Applicant, namely, the Administrative General and Official Trustee of Madras, not to handover the administration of the above Trust to the Waqf Board or any other Waqf Authorities.

1.3 Application No.1653 of 2021 is filed by Hajee A.M.Farook, challenging the order dated 23.03.2021, by which the District Superintendent of Waqf constituted a nine member Committee to manage the affairs of the Trust.

1.4 Application No.273 of 2021 is filed by the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board, for a direction to transfer the entire papers relating to M.K.P.Maracayar and Masid Moqdoomi Waqf, which was the subject matter of the scheme of administration under C.S.No.314 of 1930, from the file of this Court to that of the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board.

1.5 Application No.1156 of 2021 is filed by one I.S.Ibrahim, to implead themselves as respondents in A.No.273 of 2021, filed by the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board. The impleading stands allowed.

1.6 The question involved in this case, is as to whether the taking over the management by the Waqf Board in respect of the M.K.P.Maracayar and Masid Moqdoomi Trust is in order and what directions are to be given in respect of the above Trust, in which the Official Trustee is appointed by this Court in the Scheme Suit to conduct the affairs of the Trust. Since we found that the prayers in the applications and in the Writ Appeal are all interconnected and revolve around the above said question, we directed the applications pending on the original side of this Court to be listed along with the present Writ Appeal. After hearing all the learned Counsel, these matters are disposed off by this common judgment.

B. The Brief Facts:

2. The brief facts leading to the filing of these applications are that one M.K.Periyathambi Maracayar by a Deed dated 25.04.1919, declared a Charitable Trust by donating four of his immovable properties and appointing a Muthawallis to manage the affairs of the Trust. The purposes of the trust are religious(Mohamedan) and charitable in nature.

2.1 Thereafter, a suit came to be filed in respect of the said Trust under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure, on the file of the Extra-Ordinary Original Civil Jurisdiction of this Court by one K.M.Moulana Abdul Raheem in C.S.No.314 of 1930 and this Court had framed a scheme by a Decree dated 02.05.1939 whereby the Official Trust