New Delhi, July 31: The Delhi High Court today asked the management committee of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah here to file an affidavit giving details as to how it managed the Dargah, whose income was allegedly being misused. During hearing of a PIL alleging misappropriation of the income of the holy shrine by the pirzadas and their agents, a division bench comprising Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice A K Sikri, allowed the dargah's management committee to be impleaded as a necessary party in the matter.

The bench made it clear that it was interested in better management of the shrine as public money was involved and it should be used for improving the facilities over there.

Committee's counsel Sudhir Kumar Sharma told the bench that the descendants of Nizamuddin Aulia have been looking after the affairs of the dargah for about 700 years and the committee was functioning in accordance with the Wakf Act.
Petitioner's counsel M T Siddique gave a copy of Ajmer (Khawaja Gharib Nawaz) act to the bench and requested it to recommend to the government to enact a similar law for the medieval dargah.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K K Sud submitted that the government was a bit cautious as religious sentiments of a particular community were involved.
The court asked Sud and Delhi government counsel V K Shali to study the Ajmer act and come out with suggestions by September 24, the next date of hearing.

Petitioner NGO – ‘hum aap ke’ - has sought a central law on the pattern of the Ajmer act to protect the income of the dargah from being misused by the Sajjada Nashin, pirzadas and their agents.
Bureau Report