Waqf Chairperson hails the historic decision by the High Court declaring Kishtwar Ziarats as Waqf Property after decades of dispute

SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir Waqf Board Chairperson Dr Syed Darakhshan Andrabi has hailed the decision of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh regarding the Kishwar Ziyarats of Shah Farid-ud-Din (RA) & Shah Asrar-ud-Din (RA) which has closed the decades-old dispute concerning the management and ownership of the two prominent shrines in Kishtwar, ruling that they are Waqf properties and not private ancestral estates.

In a detailed judgment, Justice Sanjay Dhar held that the claim of hereditary ownership by individuals managing the shrines could not be sustained in law. The court observed that the properties, owing to their long-standing religious use, qualify as “Waqf by user”, even in the absence of formal dedication. Dr Darakhshan Andrabi said that this decision by the Honourable Court has defeated many false narratives spead by the people with personal interests & established our claims regarding the management and ownership of these shrines.

"The court has reiterated that continuous use of such religious institutions for pious and charitable purposes is sufficient to bring them within the ambit of Waqf law. The significant observation of the Court reads that the revenue records consistently reflected the shrines as the Waqf properties and not of the individuals claiming hereditary rights", said Dr Andrabi. Waqf Chairperson said that the court also emphasized the fact that challenges to earlier Waqf laws had become infructuous, as those statutes have since been repealed and replaced by the central Waqf Act 1995.

"This historic decision will pave way as a standard judgement ruling for all other such properties being used as personal properties by a few on the hereditary claims", said Dr Darakhshan.