The Syed Ali Sultan Shah Dargah issued notices to 60 families residing in Vellore’s Kattukollai village in February 2025, asking them to pay rent for encroaching five acres of Waqf land. After the Waqf Amendment Bill was passed in the Parliament in April, residents of Kattukollai village approached the District Collector, seeking patta on the grounds of having lived there for over two decades.
F Sayed Sadam, the administrator of the mosque told TNM that they have records to prove that the five acres have been Waqf property since 1955. “Until the 1990s, the land remained unoccupied and was just agricultural land. These families encroached the land after 1991,” he alleged.
Sayed said his late father, who was the then mutawalli (administrator), had sent several letters to the CEO of the Tamil Nadu Waqf board. “He even notified the board and the government officials that the families were given electricity connections illegally. After I assumed the role two years ago, I also sent various letters to the CEO of the State Waqf board. The CEO also wrote a letter notifying that the families had illegally encroached the land,” he said.
In February 2025, the Dargah sent a notice to these families, asking them to become tenants and pay rent. On April 11, a few days after the Waqf Amendment Bill was passed in the Parliament, the residents approached Vellore District Collector V R Subbulaxmi, seeking patta. Hindu Munnani’s functionaries also accompanied these families and told the media that they don’t believe the Waqf board’s claim on the land.
A meeting was held with the residents and the Dargah’s authorities on Tuesday, April 15, by the District authorities. However, they couldn’t arrive at a consensus.
TNM reached out to the District Collector’s office but didn’t receive a response. This section will be updated when they respond.
It may be noted that the Waqf Amendment Act was passed in the Parliament despite objections that the new amendments violate minority and state rights. Members of Parliament (MPs) who opposed the legislation pointed out that the Bill allows for the appointment of non-Muslims to the Central Waqf Council and to the Waqf Board, infringing on the religious freedom of Muslims.
The DMK is among the parties from the INDIA bloc to have moved the Supreme Court (SC) against the Waqf Amendment Bill. The case will be heard on Wednesday, April 16.