Senior Advocate Mohammad Hussain Rizvi’s Constitutional Arguments Prevail; Waqf Tribunal Sends CEO Zeeshan Haider Rizvi and Another Official to Civil Imprisonment

Shabu Zaidi

Lucknow: In a significant and widely discussed judgment in the Imambara Agha Baqar case, the Uttar Pradesh Waqf Tribunal, Lucknow, has sentenced Shia Central Waqf Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zeeshan Haider Rizvi and official Afsar Mirza to one month of civil imprisonment after holding them guilty of disobeying the Tribunal’s order. Accepting the constitutional and legal arguments advanced by Senior Advocate Mohammad Hussain Rizvi, the Tribunal observed that administrative action had been taken despite an interim stay order, which amounted to a violation of a judicial directive.

The case relates to the management dispute concerning the historic Imambara Agha Baqar in Lucknow. In its order, the Tribunal clearly stated that no administrative officer has the authority to arbitrarily interpret or disregard judicial orders. The Bench observed that if there were any grievances or administrative objections, legal remedies were available. However, any attempt to implement or give effect to an action that had been stayed by the Tribunal would constitute contempt and disobedience of a judicial order.

According to legal experts, such an order is extremely rare in Waqf-related matters and is being regarded as an important precedent for ensuring accountability, transparency, and the supremacy of judicial orders in Waqf administration.