Plea in HC alleges violations in Haj panel appointment

Nagpur: A petitioner has moved Nagpur bench of Bombay high court alleging violations in appointment of new members on State Haj Committee. He prayed for cancelling February 14 government notification regarding their appointments.
A division bench comprising justices Ravi Deshpande and Vinay Joshi on Tuesday, issued notices to centre and state governments, along with Haj Committee asking them to reply within two weeks.

Petitioner Maulana Habib Rizvi Mohammed Hussain, a Muslim astrologer and law expert, informed that the state level Haj Committee comprises three members from Muslim MPs and MLAs, three from councillors, three from Muslim theology and legal expertise, and among the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), totalling to 16, as per the Haj Committee Act-2002. The tenure of all members is three years.

He contended that the government’s notification does not include MPs and MLAs while the Muslim community has 2 MPs, 10 MLAs and 4 legislative council members. According to the rules of 2009, appointing each councillor from Mumbai, Nagpur and Aurangabad areas is necessary, but those were not followed while making new appointments. Mohammad Atik and Bhavika Rathi argued the case on petitioner’s behalf.