HC dismisses UP Shia Waqf Board chairman petition on funds

Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Chairman Wasim Rizvi, who had challenged an FIR accusing him of misappropriation of funds and fraudulent transfer of property.

A division bench comprising justices Tarun Agarwala and Rajul Bhargava refused to give any relief to Rizvi, who had sought a stay on his arrest and quashing of the FIR lodged against himself at Qilla police station of Bareilly.

In the FIR, the petitioner has been accused of facilitating illegal transfer of Waqf property in the western Uttar Pradesh district and misappropriating funds of the board.

Incidentally, a similar case was filed against Rizvi at Lucknow last month.

The Waqf Board Chairman is said to be close to Azam Khan, a high-profile minister and the previous Samajwadi Party government in the state.

Moreover, two years ago, Rizvi had sacked Athar Abbas Naqvi - brother of senior BJP leader and Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi - from the post of the caretaker of a Waqf property in Bareilly.

Naqvi had hit back, filing a defamation suit against the Waqf Board Chairman.