Gujarat High Court Criticizes Arrest of Surat Waqf Trustees

Surat : The Gujarat High Court has intervened sharply in a controversial case involving the arrest of two elderly trustees of the Waqf Fund Trust by the Surat police. The trustees, Ibrahim Hasam Ismail (84) and Ahmed Azam Ismail (76), residents of Rander, were taken into custody on September 20, 2024. They stand accused of allegedly selling prime land, not belonging to the Waqf board, for Rs 90 lakh through falsified revenue records dating back to 2005.

The court’s rebuke came as it observed that the FIR against the trustees is premature, given the ongoing civil litigation concerning the disputed lands at survey numbers 259, 268, 337, and 338. It characterized the FIR as an attempt by the complainant to circumvent the judicial process and force resolution through police action, deeming it an abuse of legal procedures.

The Waqf Fund Trust has been embroiled in protracted legal battles to rectify erroneously recorded tenant names and ownership details across these lands. Over the past 22 years, between 12 to 15 cases related to these properties have been litigated in the High Court, resulting in several injunctions favoring the trust. Additionally, the trust has filed numerous cases with the Revenue Commission in Ahmedabad, securing ongoing injunctions against unauthorized claims.

Recent developments include the Revenue Commission overturning incorrect assessment orders and officially recognizing the trust’s ownership of the lands in question. However, efforts to remove the names of wrongly entered assesses have encountered bureaucratic delays, exacerbated by persistent civil litigation.

Sources close to the case allege political interference, with claims implicating a BJP minister in exacerbating the conflict. Three years ago, an initial complaint lodged by purported tenants to the Surat police was thoroughly investigated and dismissed under the tenure of former commissioner Ajay Tomar. The investigation uncovered fraudulent entries and document forgery related to the Rander-Gorat trust lands.

Following the involvement of the BJP minister, the Surat police’s economic offenses wing abruptly revived the case, resulting in the arrest of the elderly trustees based on renewed tenant complaints.