Shia waqf board notice to Vijay Mallya

LUCKNOW: Shia Central Board of Waqfs, UP, on Wednesday issued a notice to liquor baron Vijay Mallya for purchasing a waqf (endowment) land in Meerut and running a liquor brewery and distillery on it. Waqf “Syed Mohammad”, in Abdullahpur, Meerut, is said to have been sold to Mallya owned United Spirits Ltd (USL) in 2002. Mallya has been asked to appear with documents on August 10 at Shia Waqf Board office in Lucknow.
“The said complaint was lodged with the board on July 2, when the new Mutawwali (caretaker) took charge of the land.On thorough investigation, the board found allegations to be prima facie true and so notice has been issued to Vijay Mallya who holds the present possession,” said Waseem Rizvi, chairperson, Shia Waqf Board. If Mallya fails to appear on the said date, authorities will seal the property and take other legal action.
According to the Shia waqf board, the concerned property was registered as waqf land by the owner family on April 26, 1918. The property was then given on a 50-year lease to a chemical factory on April 20, 1937. “The lease too was an illegal step, and since it was time bound its period ended in 1987. It was in 2002, that the people, who had been running the chemical factory, sold the land to USL. This was not under their rights, as the factory owners were not owners of the waqf land,” said Rizvi.