Ernakulum (Kerala) [India], January 25 (ANI): Protestors against alleged Waqf exloitation at Munambam, Ernakulum on Saturday wrote a letter to the politicial parties of India and the Members of Parliament on the 100th day of their hunger strike.
The ‘denizens’ in their letter sought attention and support to problems being faced by them due to the 1995 Waqf Act.
“We, the denizens of Munambam village nestled in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, beseech your illustrious attention and unwavering support regarding a matter of profound injustice that besets our community and myriad other citizens nationwide, stemming from the Waqf Act of 1995, subsequently amended in 2013,” the letter read.
The letter stated on how the Waqf Board had exploited the chasms within the Act to claim the land in Munambam.
“In our deplorable circumstances, the Waqf Board has manifestly exploited the chasms within the Act to insidiously lay claim to our cherished land in Munambam. The Board has audaciously designated our land as Waqf property, basing this spurious declaration solely upon the fortuitous occurrence of the term ‘Waqf’ within the deed of 1995, while willfully disregarding the substantive essence of the deed itself, which unequivocally encompasses a clause permitting property sales and stipulations that are fundamentally antithetical to the very nature of Waqf.”
“Consequently, the Waqf Board unilaterally proclaimed our land as Waqf property sans due inquiry or notification, usurping our title without our cognizance. This lamentable process flouts our constitutional right to property as delineated under Article 300A and our right to a fair hearing in legal proceedings. From whence derives the authority of the Waqf Board to compel the revenue department to alter the title of our land, as transpired in our lamentable case? Such injustices underscore the unconstitutional essence of the Waqf Act, which facilitates land expropriation from innocent and pliable citizens under a veneer of legality,” the letter read.
The ‘denizens’ of Munambam in the letter mentioned on how they were neither apprised prior to nor the declaration of their land as Waqf in 2009.
“We, the beleaguered denizens of Munambam, find ourselves grievously deprived of this quintessential entitlement. We were neither apprised prior to nor during the ostensible declaration of our land as Waqf in 2009, nor before or during its subsequent entrenchment within the Waqf registry in 2019, nor prior to or during the deplorable alteration of title within the revenue department in 2022,” they stated.
It was also stated in the letter that 600 families in Munambam had been unjustly dispossessed of their properties by the Waqf Board.
“In Munambam, 600+ families have been unjustly dispossessed of their properties by the Waqf Board–an entity that patently lacks legitimate legal authority. This flagrant transgression contravenes Article 300A: “No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law,” the letter read.
The denizens demanded in their letter the removal of the verbal Waqf in Section 3, proposal to remove from Section 3.
Further, they demanded the abrogation of Section 40, abrogation of Section 52A and the modification of Section 52(4). An introduction of a novel proviso in Section 84 was also demanded along with excision of Section 108A.
“We beseech you to contemplate our plight with the gravitas it duly deserves and to champion amendments that will rectify these manifest injustices. Your esteemed intervention could illuminate a pathway toward the restoration of our rights and ensure that such transgressions are precluded henceforth,” the letter further read.
The denizens also mentioned the deficiencies in the Amendment Bill and stated that the Waqf Tribunal which operated in flagrant disregard of secular jurisprudence–specifically the Code of Civil Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act–should have been unequivocally abolished.
Further, the denizens mentioned that the Waqf Ammendment Bill had an absence of the retrospective effect and was ambigous regarding the eligibility and competence.
“Moreover, it is manifestly evident that current appointments are unduly susceptible to political machinations, thereby undermining the integrity and efficacy of the Waqf governance apparatus,” the letter further read.
“We earnestly anticipate that your illustrious party will harmonize its actions with the foundational precepts of the Indian Constitution and extend unequivocal support for a just and propitious amendment of the Act,” the letter read. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
HINDI, MARATHI, GUJARATI, TAMIL, TELUGU, BENGALI, KANNADA, ORIYA, PUNJABI, URDU, MALAYALAM
For more details and packages
