Noted lawyers roped in to fight Wakf’s cases

MANGALURU: The Wakf Board has engaged well-known lawyers to fight its cases in courts to reclaim the land encroached by “powerful people”,  Karnataka Wakf Board Chairman Shafi Saadi said on Monday.
Saadi said that after he became chairman, it was found that one of the reasons for encroachment of Wakf properties was the failure of its legal cell, since the advocates on the panel were not prioritising fighting the board’s cases.

During the last Wakf Board meeting, Saadi said they decided to engage senior lawyers. Accordingly, he said senior advocates DLN Rao, Ashok Harnahalli, Jayakumar Patil and others have been engaged to fight on behalf of the board. Rao has been handed over three cases, including the Windsor Manor property case.

He added, “Even if the Wakf Board wins 50 per cent of the cases, it needn’t depend on government funds to run. The board is spending over Rs 70 crore to safeguard the reclaimed properties by constructing compound walls.”

To a query on the Anwar Manippady report on Wakf Board land encroachment, Saadi said he welcomes any probe, including by the CBI or Lokayukta. Further, he said the amount of land actually encroached upon is far more than what is reported in the Manippady report.