Last December, the government had told HC that the constitution of the Waqf Tribunal is “likely to be completed in any event within two months”. (File Photo)The Rekha Gupta government told the Delhi High Court on Thursday that it is likely to constitute and officially notify the Delhi Waqf Tribunal, which has been non-functional since 2022, within four weeks.This comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), on October 8, approved Delhi government’s proposal to appoint Yaser Jilani as a member of the tribunal who has knowledge of Muslim law and jurisprudence.Jilani, a spokesperson for BJP Delhi, told The Indian Express that he has held the position in the party for “10 years now”.As per the Waqf Act, 1995, all matters involving Waqf or its properties, including disputes over tenancy of such properties, are to be adjudicated only by Waqf tribunals notified by the state government. The law bars civil courts from dealing with disputes concerning Waqf or its properties. In the absence of a functional tribunal, such disputes make its way to the High Court.In May 2024, Masjid and Dargah Shah Abdul Salam Faridi, situated in Connaught Place and party to various litigations before the Tribunal, moved HC, flagging that the non-functional Tribunal has resulted in a “grinding halt” to the trials before it. With a non-functional Tribunal in Delhi, the petitioner-Waqf property sought that the HC direct the government to immediately issue a notification to reconstitute a functional tribunal with full quorum.Apart from Jilani, the Tribunal is expected to comprise District Judge Pankaj Sharma as the presiding officer and Additional District Magistrate (New Delhi) Nishant Bodh. This is as per an August 7 communication by the Delhi government to the additional secretary of MHA.The latest submission by the Delhi government comes after it missed an earlier deadline it had set before the HC. Last December, the government had told HC that the constitution of the Waqf Tribunal is “likely to be completed in any event within two months”.Story continues below this adIn April this year, the HC had deprecated the “impasse” and delay in the appointment, noting that the government, on several occasions between February 2025 and February this year, had “assured that necessary steps in this regard would be taken on an urgent basis”.“However, it is seen that the matter has not yet seen substantial progress, despite the assurance given on various occasions,” the court had observed, while cautioning that it will take “suitable action” if not satisfied.The Tribunal in Delhi, last functioned in April 2022, when the presiding officer was transferred and the quorum required for the Tribunal to function was not met.In regard to this specific Waqf property, it was their case that their tenants have now become illegal occupants of the Waqf property who were neither willing to pay revised rent nor vacating the premises, and were enjoying benefits of the location — with Connaught Place being a business hub — leading to “huge losses on monthly basis” to the Waqf.Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering... Read More