Allahabad HC Seeks Affidavit From UP Minority Dept Secy On Compliance With Directions For Sunni Waqf Board Elections

A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh clarified that if the affidavit sought by the Court is not filed by May 19, the next date of listing, the officer concerned shall appear before the Court for the purpose of framing of contempt charges.

A single judge passed this order while dealing with a contempt plea moved by Mohammad Ishaq @ Babby Chawdhary, who submitted that the HC's directions had not been complied with by the Minority Welfare department.

For context, the applicant filed a PIL plea last year for the elections for members of the U.P. Sunni Waqf Board as required under Section 14(1)(b) of the Wakf Act, 1995.

On March 11, 2024, the Standing Counsel apprised the bench that the election process was underway and would be completed soon.

Given this submission, a division bench had disposed of the plea with a direction to the State Government to conclude the elections within two months.

Since the elections were not held within the given time frame, the applicant (PIL petitioner) filed the instant petition for contempt.

The counsel for the applicant submitted to the Court that the order of the writ court was communicated to the respondent on June 13, 2024, but it was not complied with. Therefore, the present contempt application had been filed.

The bench was also informed that, vide an order dated March 28, 2025, Mr. Krishna Murari, District Minority Welfare Officer, Prayagraj, and Mr. Tanmay Pandey, District Minority Welfare Officer, Siddharth Nagar, were appointed as Assistant Returning Officers.

Although the Additional Chief Secretary of the Minority Welfare and Waqf Department submitted an affidavit of compliance in the Court, the single judge rejected it, noting that the same failed to provide a valid explanation for not complying with the court's order within the specified time. Additionally, it did not mention any new timeline for completing the elections, as per the directions of the Division bench.