Wakf inquiry sought for Musafirkhana's transfer

A complaint filed with the Wakf Board has called for an inquiry into the transfer of the Musafirkhana building and an attached mosque to India's largest urban renewal scheme in Bhendi Bazaar.

- Manoj Ramakrishnan

The complaint has asked for an investigation into the permission granted by the Charity Commissioner to allow the Haji Ismail Haji Habib Musafirkhana Trust to transfer the property to the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT), which is building the 16.5-acre Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment project.

The complaint says that the building is a Wakf property or a Muslim religious endowment, making the approval granted by the Charity Commissioner 'null and void'.

While the Charity Commissioner has jurisdiction over public trusts registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, the 1995 Wakf Act transferred all Muslim religious endowments to the Wakf Board. Many Muslim trusts have contested the transfer, claiming they are still under the jurisdiction of the Charity Commissioner.