Date Of Decision:
03.08.2021
Coram:
Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Hemant Gupta
Parties to the Case:
Appelant: Telangana State Waqf Board and Anr.
Respondent: Mohamed Muzafar
Subject
Jurisdiction of the Waqf Tribunal
Issue
Is the Waqf Tribunal competent to decide upon a dispute related to waqf property if there is a dispute on the property being a waqf property or not?
Overview
- This case was related to a dispute related to the property being a waqf property and the subsequent right of the mutwalli of the waqf property to evict a tenant who repeatedly defaulted on the rent due for the use of the property.
- The land in question was taken up by the father of the respondent from the mutwalli of the property at a rent and other charges. The property was subsequently taken by the respondent who followed the pre-decided agreement, but started defaulting on the rent.
- The appellant, who was the son of the previous mutwalli, upon becoming the mutwalli observed that not only had the respondent defaulted on rent, but also encroached a part of the adjoining graveyard, which was also a waqf property.
- So, he issued a legal notice to evict the tenant and make him surrender the encroached property. The tenant issued a reply stating that the property was not a waqf property.
- The matter reached to the Waqf Tribunal which decided the matter in favour of the mutwalli and the Waqf Board and passed an order to the tenant to evict the property.
- The tenant made a Revision petition to the High Court, stating that the Tribunal had no jurisdiction as the property was not a waqf property. The High Court passed an order in favour of the tenant and sidelined the order of the Tribunal.
- The mutwalli and the Waqf Board made an appeal to the Supreme Court. Here the main issue was the competency of the Tribunal to decide the case and the legality of the order passed by the High Court.
Legal Provisions
- Section 6 of the Waqf Act, 1995: It lays down that any dispute relating to the status of a property as being in the list of auqaf shall be decided by the Waqf Tribunal.
- Section 7 of the Waqf Act, 1995: It deals with the power of the Waqf Tribunal to decide the disputes related to the issue of a property being a waqf property or not.
- Section 85 of the Waqf Act, 1995: This Section puts a bar on the civil court and lays down that a suit relating to the dispute of a waqf property, which can be adjudicated by a Tribunal, cannot be taken up by a civil court.
Judgement Analysis
- The Supreme Court considered two main points:
- Whether the order of the High Court was tenable, considering that it was hearing a Revision Petition?
- Whether the Waqf Tribunal was competent to hear the matter related to the dispute on the property being a waqf property or not and subsequent rights of the mutwalli with regard to such property?
- For (i), the Supreme Court looked into the proceedings of the High Court and observed that the High Court reappreciated the evidence, meaning that it considered the entire evidence again, which it could have done in an appeal, while in a revision petition, the High Court could only check whether there was a prima facie defect in the order and that the conclusion made in the order was impractical for any reasonable person.
- On the basis of the above observation, the Supreme Court set aside the order of the High Court for not following the set standards to be followed in case of a revision petition.
- With regards to (ii), the Court looked into the merits of the facts and observed that the High Court made an observation, that while deciding the dispute on the land being a waqf property or not, no decision can be taken without giving an opportunity to the tenant to raise a question on the area of the property.
- The Court said that this observation automatically brought the issue under the ambit of Sections 6 and 7 of the Waqf Act, 1995.
- Consequently, the Waqf Tribunal became competent to hear the matter.
- On the basis of the above observation, the Court restored the order of the Tribunal and passed an order giving three months to the respondent to vacate the premises.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that that a Waqf Tribunal is competent to decide upon a dispute on the question of a property being a waqf property or not. The judgement was legally tenable in the sense that it called out the defect in the approach taken by the High Court while dealing with the Revision Petition. The Waqf Tribunal was competent to hear the matter right from the start and the case of the respondent was mainly to divert the Court and delay the justice, in the sense that this matter started in 2005-2006 and concluded in 2021, giving more than a decade to the tenant to use the property and make illegitimate gains. The patent violation by the High Court of the set standards adopted while dealing with a Revision Petition gave leverage to the tenant to make illegitimate gains.
Click here to download the original copy of the judgement
