3k cases pile up at Wakf tribunal

AURANGABAD: Cases are piling up at the Maharashtra State Board of Wakf tribunal as the government has not initiated the appointment of the three-member panel since the transfer of the incumbent from Aurangabad about three months ago.
The then judge R H Mohammed was transferred from Aurangabad to Pune in November 2014 and since then the tribunal here is awaiting the appointment of new members.
Experts said that the biggest challenge before the state is to meet the requirements as per the amendments to the Wakf Act 2013. The state has to appoint a three-member panel on the Wakf tribunal. This was not done earlier because appoint of RH Mohammed was done much before the amendments.
As per the amendments 2013, one person, who shall be a member of the State Judicial Service holding a rank, not below that of a District, Sessions or Civil Judge, Class-I, shall be the chairman of the tribunal. The second member shall be an officer from the State Civil Services equivalent in rank to that of the additional district magistrate, member, while the third member to be appointed on the tribunal should be an expert having knowledge of Muslim Law and jurisprudence.
Legal advisor to the Wakf Board Sameer Patel told TOI, “Till November, there were 2,400 cases pending at the Wakf tribunal. Since the transfer, another 400 cases have reached the tribunal. The appointment has to be at the earliest.”
Maharashtra State Board of Wakf CEO Sayyed Aejaz Hussain said, “There is a need for immediate appointment of the tribunal for the fast clearance of the cases and we are sure that the government will soon take a call regarding it.”