Amid the Waqf Bill debate, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi claims the land on which Antilia stands belongs to a Waqf trust
GUWAHATI, April 9: Parliament passing the Waqf bill which has now become an act with President Droupadi Murmu giving her assent to it could spell disaster for Mukesh Ambani and his family.
Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest person, might well have to move out of his Rs 15,000 crore ultra-luxury apartment along with wife Nita Ambani and other members of his family.
Sounds strange, even a little absurd to say the least. But that’s exactly what the billionaire could be forced to do given the claims made by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi that the land where Antilia stands on actually belonged to a Waqf trust.
Reports say the land where the 27-storey mansion was built was originally given to the Waqf Board in 1986 by Kareem Bhai Ibrahim.
While Ibrahim had given the land to the Waqf Board for religious education and for construction of an orphanage, the said plot of land was sold to Mukesh Ambani in 2002 for Rs 21.5 crore.
The deal sailed into rough waters following an Action Taken Report (ATR) presented in the Maharashtra Assembly in which it was said that property belonging to the Waqf Board cannot be sold for private use.
A report published by widely-circulated Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar also claimed the sale did not follow proper Waqf Board procedures.
Meanwhile, despite the controversy, it took around four years, from 2006 to 2010, for a US firm to redesign and built Antilia where Mukesh Ambani and his family have been staying since the project’s completion.
The matter has also been long pending in Supreme Court.
Now, with Parliament passing the Waqf Amendment bill, and President Murmu giving her assent to it, the Ambanis could be forced to vacate their luxury apartment for a new home if the verdict regarding who should have its rightful possession does not go their way.
