On Wednesday, the All India Khilafat Committee rejected the allegations made by former All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Waris Pathan regarding the ownership of Mumbai's historic Khilafat House and the legal status of the educational institution established within its premises.

Trustee of the committee, Dr. Rauf Pathan, termed these allegations as baseless and claimed that their purpose is to create obstacles in property development plans.

He said that the All India Khilafat Committee College of Education was established in 1989 and is affiliated with Mumbai University. So far, nearly 3,600 teachers have received their education from this institution, many of whom are serving in India and abroad.

Dr. Rauf Pathan, who completed a course in Educational Management from the University of West Georgia located in the American city of Atlanta, said that the committee has obtained the necessary permissions to carry out its activities.

He informed that under the proposed development plan, a hospital and a college will soon be established on the Khilafat House premises.

This response from the committee comes amidst legal proceedings initiated by Waris Pathan. Waris Pathan has filed an application for an injunction to stop construction and repair work at Khilafat House. He has questioned the committee's ownership claim and the legal status of the property.

Before Judge Y. M. H. Kharadi and Member Mohammad Mohiuddin Moid, Waris Pathan's advocate, Nisar Ahmad Khan, concluded his arguments on Tuesday. He claimed that this property belongs to Waqf and questioned the legal operation of the B.Ed. college, alleging that the institution lacks the mandatory approval from the Charity Commissioner.

Opposing these claims, Rauf Pathan said that this property is not Waqf ownership. According to him, the committee received no notification regarding the registration of the property as Waqf in 2003.

He further claimed that this property was not included even in the survey or satellite mapping conducted in 2006 during the tenure of the then Minister for Waqf, Arif Naseem Khan.

The trustee requested making the District Collector a party to the proceedings and demanded an inquiry into the alleged conspiracy to defame the committee. He also demanded the issuance of a white paper regarding the original Waqf documents allegedly returned to the Charity Commissioner over the past five years.

Citing Dr. Rafiq Zakaria, he also announced plans to establish a medical college.

On the other hand, in support of the injunction application, Nisar Ahmad Khan cited the Waqf Gazette Notification of November 13, 2003, in which this property was included under Category 'B' Religious Institutions. He argued that the Supreme Court has also upheld this classification.

Khan also cited nearly 150-year-old historical records, the absence of rental entries in property cards, the settlement of a government claim in 1926, and the religious use of the property since 1968. He stated that no one has challenged the classification of this property as Waqf status for 22 years.

He added that prior to 2023, government ownership of the property had not been proven and claimed that the Charity Commissioner's jurisdiction in this matter ceased after 1996.

In the upcoming hearing, arguments are expected to be presented on behalf of the Waqf Board, after which the defendants' lawyers will be given an opportunity to present their stance.