IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) MONDAY, THE SEVENTH DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA WRIT PETITION NO : 14342 of 2008 Between: Shakuntala W/o. Late Sunder Singh @ Sunder Lal R/o.H.No.13-5-292, Karwan, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONER AND The Andhra Pradesh State Wakf Board, rep. by its Chief Executive Officer, Razzak Manzil, Opp: Public Garden, Hyderabad, A.P. .....RESPONDENT Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court will be pleased to to issue any appropriate writ, order or direction more particularly one in the nature of writ of mandamus declaring the action of the respondent in issuing proceedings in F.No.5/J2/SNTC/99 Eviction Order dated 10.06.2008 as illegal, arbitrary, un-constitutional and violation of Fundamental Rights which are guaranteed to the petitioner under Article 14 of the Constitution of India and contrary to the Judgement dated 04.04.1984 passed in S.A.No.294 of 1981 by the Hon'ble High Court of A.P., Hyderabad, in the interest of justice and pass Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.SUDHEER SINGH Counsel for the Respondent No.: MR.ABDUL NAJEEB KHAN The Court made the following : THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA WRIT PETITION NO.14342 OF 2008 ORAL ORDER: Aggrieved by the proceedings bearing No.5/J2/SNTC/99 dated 10.06.2008 passed by the respondent herein under Section 54(3) of the Wakf Act, 1995 whereunder the petitioner was dispossessed from the land in question, he filed the present writ petition. The petitioner states that an agreement of sale dated 27.09.1987 in respect of the land in question was executed in favour of her husband by one Sri N.Vishnumurthy, the vendor and owner thereof, and that despite the efforts made by her husband and herself, they could not get the presence of the said Vishnumurthy, and as a result thereof, the sale deed executed by him in their favour, could not be got registered. The petitioner further states that she has been in peaceful possession and enjoyment of the land in question since the date of purchase in the year 1987, but to her utter surprise, the respondent herein issued notice under Section 54(1) of the Wakf Act, 1995 in respect of the land in question, calling upon her to show cause as to why, an order to remove the encroachment made by her in the land in question, should not be made. The petitioner states that even though she submitted her explanation to the said show cause notice on 05.04.2008, the respondent without considering the same, has passed the impugned proceedings dated 10.06.2008, directing her to remove the alleged encroachment made by her in the land in question and deliver possession thereof to the Inspector Auditor Wakfs, Hyderabad City Circle No.IV. Hence, she filed the present writ petition. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned standing counsel for the respondent. The learned standing counsel for the respondent admitted that the petitioner submitted his explanation to the show cause, but contended that since it was received belatedly after the due date, the same was not considered. He however, submitted that in the case of similarly placed persons, and considering the fact that about 17 persons were reported to be in encroachment of the land, including the petitioner, the respondent with a view to provide opportunity to them, has decided to conduct a summary enquiry under Section 54(1) of the Wakf Act, 1995, and also appointed an Enquiry Officer for the said purpose. To show that an enquiry has been decided to be conducted and that an Enquiry Officer has also been appointed, he produced copy of the proceedings dated 03.06.2008 issued by the respondent. He further submitted that the Enquiry Officer, appointed under the provisions of the Wakf Act, 1995, is vested with some of the powers as are vested in the civil Courts under the Code of Civil Procedure Code, and that the petitioners can place material and oral evidence, if any, during the course of enquiry. In view of the above stand taken by the respondent, both the counsel for the petitioner and the learned standing counsel for the respondent, agreed for disposal of the writ petition itself at the stage of admission with the following directions: The Enquiry Officer, appointed to conduct summary enquiry in respect of the alleged encroachment of the land in question, shall issue notice to the petitioner calling upon her to submit explanation supported by material, if any, and if any such notice is issued, the petitioner shall submit her explanation supported by documentary evidence, if any. Upon submission of explanation by the petitioner, the Enquiry Officer shall consider the same in the light of the material to be placed by the petitioner and that is available with the respondent, and pass appropriate orders thereon in accordance with law, expeditiously. Till such time, status quo obtaining as on today shall be maintained by the parties. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of. No costs. ______________ N.V.RAMANA, J. Date: 07.07.2008. VGSR