Srinagar, Sep 17, KNT: More than two years after Dr Kamal-ud-Din Farooqui was removed from his position as Imam-o-Khateeb of Dargah Hazratbal pending an inquiry, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has sought responses from the J&K administration, Waqf Board and police authorities on his plea challenging his continued exclusion from the shrine.

While hearing the matter on September 15, Justice Muhammad Yousuf Wani granted time to the respondents to file their replies and directed notice to the remaining parties. The court also directed the authorities to consider Farooqui’s representation, stated to have been submitted on June 12, 2024, in accordance with the applicable rules. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on October 14, 2026.

Farooqui has challenged the April 8, 2024 order of the J&K Waqf Board under which he was relieved of his duties pending an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the conversion of a man to Islam at Hazratbal during Friday prayers earlier that month. The Board had constituted a three-member inquiry committee and directed it to submit a factual report within seven days.

The petition as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust names the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir through the Principal Secretary, Home Department; the J&K Waqf Board through its Chief Executive Officer; Waqf Board Chairperson Dr Darakhshan Andrabi; the Executive Magistrate (Tehsildar) of the Waqf Board; SSP Srinagar; SHO Police Station Nigeen; and the Administrator/In-charge of Dargah Hazratbal.

Farooqui’s case is that an action described as being pending an inquiry has continued without a final determination. He has also questioned the basis for his continued exclusion, pointing to the fact that his name does not figure in the FIR registered in connection with the 2024 incident.

The police case had been registered against Farooqui’s alleged role in the episode, while reporting on the FIR identifies Anayat Muntazir as the person named in the case. Farooqui has maintained that he was not responsible for coercing the man who embraced Islam.

Another significant piece of material cited in the controversy is a subsequent judicial statement by the person who embraced Islam. According to the material relied upon by Farooqui, he stated before a court on January 29, 2025 that he had not been subjected to coercion in accepting Islam.

Farooqui has also challenged the continuation of the inquiry-related restriction after the passage of more than two years. His petition states that he appeared before the inquiry committee on May 5, 2024 and submitted a detailed written statement, but that no inquiry report or final decision was communicated to him.

The original Waqf Board order had described Farooqui’s removal as being effective until completion of the inquiry or until further orders. The committee was headed by Syed Mohammad Hussain, a Board member, and included Ghulam Nabi Haleem, another Board member, and Mohammad Yaseen Khan, Imam-o-Khateeb of Syed Karam Shah Sahib, Karan Nagar.

The High Court has not, at this stage, made any finding on the allegations surrounding the 2024 incident or ordered Farooqui’s reinstatement. The respondents will now have an opportunity to place their position before the court.

The proceedings will consequently examine not only Farooqui’s challenge to the 2024 Waqf Board order but also the continued status of an inquiry that was originally expected to produce a report within seven days and the authorities’ handling of his subsequent representation.

The matter will next be heard on October 14, 2026. [KNT]

© Kashmir News Trust (KNT). Unauthorized use without attribution is prohibited.