The Madhya Pradesh Excessive Courtroom on Monday overturned the MP Waqf Board’s declare over historic monuments. The court docket humorously questioned, “Why not declare the Taj Mahal as Waqf property? Tomorrow you would possibly say the whole India is Waqf property,” whereas rejecting the MP Waqf Board’s assertion of possession over Burhanpur Fort, which covers roughly 4.448 hectares. The court docket declared, “The MP Waqf Board has no proper over three Mughal-era properties in Madhya Pradesh.”
The Excessive Courtroom dismissed the MP Waqf Board’s order that sought possession of notable historic monuments within the Burhanpur district, together with the tombs of Shah Shuja and Nadir Shah. On July 19, 2013, the MP Waqf Board had proclaimed the Tomb of Shah Shuja, Tomb of Nadir Shah, Bibi Sahib’s Masjid, and a palace inside Burhanpur Fort as its property.
The Archaeological Survey of India contested this order, asserting that these monuments had been underneath its safety as properties of the central authorities, safeguarded underneath the Historical Monuments Preservation Act, 1904.
Justice GS Ahluwalia of the only bench acknowledged on July 26, “The property in query is an historic and guarded monument formally acknowledged underneath the Historical Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, and thus, the CEO of the MP Waqf Board dedicated a major illegality by ordering the petitioner to vacate it.”
The Excessive Courtroom annulled the MP Waqf Board CEO’s order dated July 19, 2013.
The court docket acknowledged, “There are numerous historic monuments and archaeological websites underneath the safety and conservation of the petitioner (ASI) throughout the nation, that are the wonderful heritage of the nation’s historic occasions and historical past.”
It additional acknowledged, “The Tomb of Shah Shuja, Tomb of Nadir Shah, and Bibi Sahib’s Masjid on the Fort of Burhanpur are additionally historic and guarded monuments.”
