Hooghly Imambargah proposal

HOOGHLY IMAMBARGAH WEST BENGAL

H O O G H L Y WAQF PROPOSALS /WAY FORWARD

PROPERTY PROTECTION The project of recovering the Hooghly Imambara’s properties from the outsiders in all respect very urgent, very important and has been left languishing for a long time.

The Hooghly Imambara’s properties can serve to be a launching pad for the upliftment of the Shia community in Bengal and other regions of India by opening economic, religious and skill centers.

1. It is a tedious and a lengthy process & Fighting a state govt. is not easy & Might take years to get justice .BUT it is possible to get back vast properties of the Hooghly Imambara to return to its name and fold. This requires the following : Dedication. Determination. Legal team. & Funds.

2. The community has to build up a team of about 20 persons worldwide who will monitor the progress and work of legal teams which will be dedicated and paid to work for the Hooghly Imambara properties.

3. The legal team will consist of a Solicitor who will employ a team of six advocates and twelve staffs who will all be paid a monthly salary and shall work round the clock only for the Hooghly Imambara. The legal team of six advocates and 12 staffs will require an office with all modern facilities and gadgets and will be in constant communication. That a conservative estimate fund required will be about Rs. 15 lacs per month.

L Law Firm has to be appointed Due to they being known to Mr Rauf they will work at 25% of normal cost

Money can be remitted directly to law firm or Shia Auqaf Bachao committee registered having a bank a/c & deed

PROPOSAL 1- Fancy Market property save Rs 200 crs

PROPOSAL 2- To Get benefit from HAJI MOHSIN ENDOWMENT FUND.& Haji Mohsin College on the basis of the minority quota(50% quota) as per the laws of India ( www.Hooghlymohsincollege.com )

Proposal 3- Petition for Goverment

WORK ALREADY DONE /ACHIEVEMENTS ( to add)

ThThat Haji Md.Mohsin (deed) a Shia Muslim had built an Imambara (Shia prayer house) at Hooghly now known as the famous Hooghly Imambara.

2. That the said Haji Md. Mohsin expired in 1813 leaving the abovesaid Hooghly Imambara and enormous landed properties as also Funds, Antiques, Gold, Silver, ornament, Religious Goods valuable etc.

3. That the said Haji Md. Mohsin before his death had executed a will dated---------. A Xerox copy of the said will is annexed marked “A”

4. That the British Government passed an Endowment Act into safeguard the abovesaid assets In 1863 a Committee of Management was formed under the president ship of Syed Ammer Ali (since deceased) who prepared a scheme for the running of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment, as it came to be know after the passing of the Endowment Act.

5. That the Hooghly Imambara Endowment also had a cash fund of Rs. 10 Lakhs in the Year-------- which has now swelled to a huge unknown amount.

6. That even after owing such enormous Land properties in Kolkata and West Bengal, Gold, Silver, religious ornaments, antiques, funds, etc, the Hooghly Imambara Endowment now known as Hooghly Imambara Wakf Estate today ought to have been a Multimillion Estate. Unfortunately it is today a destitute, a victim of greed, compelled to live on charity whereas even its own Imambara building at Hooghly is collapsing.

7. That from 1970 to 2002, the Hooghly Imambara was under Court Receivers appointed by the Ld. Courts as follows:-

8. That a conscientious effort was required to run the huge Hooghly Imambara Endowment which effort was seen lacking throughout this period.

9. That in the midst of all the legal changes during the abovesaid period the assets of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment kept on regularly slipping, dwindling away being systematically looted and siphoned away since these Court officers Receivers were always keeping hidden from the beneficiaries the Shia public the affairs and staffs of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment.

10. That In 2002, the Board of Wakf, West Bengal appointed a 5 members Committee of Management and instructed them to take charge from the them Court Administrator namely Sardar Amjed Ali, Advocate.

11. That the said Committee of Management and Sarder Amjed Ali, Advocate Administrator of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment, also kept the Endowment concealed from the Shia Public and were helped in such concealment by the Board of Wakf, West Bengal, the state Government, Reserve Bank of India and other state and central authorities and the Hooghly Imambara Endowment toes renamed Hooghly Imambara WAkf Estate.

12. That some Shias, as beneficiaries had filed application in the matter of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment as below.

a. Mohammed Abbas Rahim, a Shia and beneficiary of the Hooghly Imambara filed an application, being G.A. No. 2403/2001 in Apple No. against Sardar Amjed Ali,------------------------------------ all Advocates of Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta for causing loss to the Hooghly Imambara Endowment A copy of the above said application is annexed marked “A”

Sardar Amjed Ali, Advocate, Administrator gave an unsatisfactory reply and submitted a partial account of the Hooghly Imambara, Xerox copy of which account shows a credit balance amount of Rs-------- in the name of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment in the year--------- the present amount is known to Sardar Amjed Ali, Advocate. A Xerox copy of the said account is annexed marked “B” .

13. That Ekramul Bari, also Advocate Administrator of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment had filed a Public Interest Litigation being no.---- . a Xerox copy of such Public Interest Litigation application is annexed marked “ “.

During the pending of such Public Interest Litigation it was revealed that an enormous sum of more than Rs. 1.60 crores of the Hooghly Imambara was with the Reserve Bank of India and other authorities.

14. That the matter was subjudice and being heard by the Division Bench Hon’ble Justice ----------------------------- and Hon’ble Justice------------------- when the matter was adjourned and through a legal maze the application was moved out of list.

a. Thereafter funds were withdrawn by the State Government without the permission of the Hon’ble High Court and distributed to avail themselves of self-aggrandizement by the then State Ministers.

That justice has been totally disregarded by show of muscle, money, power and politics in effectively siphoning away assets of the Hooghly Imambara.

15. That all the time none cared for the Hooghly Imambara Endowment for highlighting the name and fame of few individuals and politics the Hooghly Imambara Endowment funds assets were given away at random. All its Gold, Jewelry, Silver, antique, ornaments were taken away at random under the veil of secrecy, legality and redtape formalities.

16. That Ekramul Bari Advocate and also administrator of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment did not pursue the Public Interest Litigation no-------filed by him and the fate of the abovesaid RS.160 Crores became unknown.

17. That in 4-12-2013 the Commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation put an advertisement in the Daily Telegraph inviting interested persons to assist for survey of Wakf properties under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Municipal Corporation as per the Wakf Act 1995 amended in September 2013, effective from November 2013.

Some Shia beneficiaries of the Hooghly Imambara Wakf Estate and Shia Aoukaf Bachao Committee approached the Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation an d wrote letters to him highlighting the absence of the property list of Hooghly Imambara Endowment submitted to Kolkata Municipal Corporation by the Board of Wakf West Bengal.

a. That a Xerox copy of several documents pertaining to the Hooghly Imambara Endowment submitted by the Shia Aoukaf Bachao Committee to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation with a request to the Board of Wakf West Bengal to furnish the full list of properties of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation but the Board of Wakf West Bengal did not given the list for its own malafide intention.

The Board of Wakf West Bengal did not furnish the list of properties of of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment under the Jurisdiction of Kolkata Municipal Corporation Xerox copy of letters written by beneficiaries and Shia Aoukaf Bachao Committee are annexed, marked with letter--------- .

18. That it is clear by the behavior and approach of the Board of Wakf West Bengal and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials that they are concealing documents, papers and list of the properties of the Hooghly Imambara Wakf Estate and shall not get these properties surveyed and enumerated by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation as mandatory under the Wakf Act 1995 amended and effective from November 2013, so as to conceal the siphoning away of the properties. A Xerox copy of a letter dated -----------no--------- issued by the Board of Wakf West Bengal which shows the vast enormous properties under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is annexed marked “—“ a Xerox copy of an agreement signed by Sardar Amjed Ali, is enclosed which.

19. That the Hooghly Imambara Endowment is still the owner of the vast landed properties whoses papers have been misappropriated and concealed for their own ill motive by Wakf Board of West Bengal as also enormous amount of gold, silver, ornaments, funds, reserves is but subsisting on charity.

It is pertinent to mention that the Moshin College, Imambarah Hospital, Chuisurah Court Police lieu’s of Chiusurah in Hooghly and Chiusurah and so many huge other land marks are all on land of the Hooghly Imambara Wakf Estate.

20. That it is a simple case of removing effectively the dust settled on the Hooghly Imambara Wakf Estate, by a proper effective legal approach before this Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta, which will result all in all the properties, assets, of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment reverting back to it as also the gold, silver, ornaments, funds, being traced out.

21. That this Hon’ble Court may direct the Board of Wakf West Bengal to produce before it a complete list of properties of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment.

a. That the Wakf Board of West Bengal is also having a list of the gold, silver, ornaments, antiques, etc.

b. Statuary bodies like Reserve Bank of India Treasury, State Government, Central Government and all such authorities/bodies may be directed by this Hon’ble Court to appear before this Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta to give and undertaking and reveal the assets bring with them of the Hooghly Imambara Endowment.

c. That an advertisement be inserted in dailies Telegraph, Akhbar-E-Mashrik, Anand Bazar.

22. That there are various avenues of tracking out the assets of the Hooghly Imamabar Endowment which is a parens parentis duty of this Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta.

23. That the Hon’ble High Court may direct the petitioners to serve a Xerox copy of this application on the following.

24. That the Hon’ble High Court may direct the petitioners to make publication in the Daily Telegraph as per the instruction of the Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta

1. The Hooghly Imambara is situated at Hooghly (Bandel). Which is at a distance of about 40 KM from Calcutta. The Annals and historical developments of the said Imambara are found in a book which is popularly known as the "Blue Book" a copy of which I possess and which is also available in the National Library at Calcutta. http://imamproperty.com/hooghly/hooghly.htm

2. The said Imambara was made Wakf by Haji Mohd. Mohsin who also left as Wakf properties a college, hospital and huge landed properties all of which are scattered in prime locations in Calcutta and essentially in the Khidderpur area. An entire touzi has been earmarked for the Hooghly Imambara properties. On a previous occasion I had sent you a list of properties located at Hooghly and found at page 495 of the aforesaid blue book. http://imamproperty.com/hooghly/hooghlyhistory.htm#PROPERTIES

3. Due to rampant misuse of the Wakf properties of the said Imambara essentially by the management who have always sought their personal gain over the interest of the Imambara, the said Imambara is know in a state of deprivation. So much so that the main prayer hall where the Majlis are held can collapse as the roof has been leaking years together and is being held only by a miracle of the Almighty. The glaring fact is that the main prayer hall contains about 50 antique chandeliers each of which is a marvel in its own right.

4. There has been a systematic erosion of the glory of Hooghly Imambara. For decades together unscrupulous persons have acted as termites. Presently there is a immediate need to take action so that properties which can be saved on which there is illegal possession.

For the present ,the focus is on FANCY MARKET which is a property belonging to the imambara at a prime location in calcutta. This market is on 21 cattahs of land ( 1 cattah = 720 sq. ft.) hence total area is about 15,000 sq. ft properties is situated at Khidderpur and which is popularly known as the Five Star Market. This was given on lease in 1985 for 30 years. It is a four storey complex and has about 150 shops. ( valued at >Rs 200 crores)

The land was leased for a period of 30 years ( 1984-2014). As a legal person i can say that the initial lease was itself bad in law. However since the 30 year period has now elapsed the effort should be to ensure that the managing trustees do not connive with the wakf board so as to extend the lease. The amended wakf act of 1995 has stringent provisions which protect the interests of the wakf estate . Hence a round of litigation is imminent if the property is to be saved. The timing is NOW since lease has already expired in 2014.

If immediate steps are not taken the management will act in collusion with the lessee and extend the lease. It is relevant to note that the Wakf act 1995 clearly bars such a renewal or extension without sanction. However if there is an act of collusion an money changes hands, the Wakf Board officials will also act in a clandestine manner and extend the lease. It is imperative that we make a concerted effect and approach the Hon'ble High Court to ensure that the lease not extended and the property reverts back to the Imambara. The aforesaid 150 shops would either have to pay enhanced rent to the Imambara all vacate. They would have no better right then the original lessee and would become trespassers.

6. A solicitor firm would be required to handle the legal issue which I have studied threadbare and can well indicate that there is a great chance of success. I say so with a little confidence since I am myself practicing as a lawyer in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. Once the properties revert back we have to ensure that it is properly protected and the proceeds go back to the Imambara. We also have to ensure that the management of the Imambara contains people of the highest respect and have to maintain a constant check on them. Alternatively we have to try to put in a few of our people in the management so that the issue of responsibility can be resolved.

7. I suppose an initial expenses of about Rs.1.50 lacs would be required and there after there would be miscellaneous legal expenses depending upon the counsels we choose to appoint. thereafter it would be on per hearing basis( effective & non effective). I can assure you that i can use my contacts in calcutta to keep legal costs at a minimal. One cannot ask for immediate success in litigation but the start has to be made.

There are several other properties where the management is conspiring with the wakf board & acting prejudicial to the interests of the imambara . I firmly believe that by taking such small steps, ALLAH S.W.T would Himself chart out a proper course in our this joint endeavor. We will make proposals & put them at http://imamproperty.com/hooghly/hooghlyproposal.htm