SC: Suit For Eviction Maintainable Before WAQF Tribunal If Tenant Disputes That Property Is Not A WAQF

Factual Background

• The name of the case is Telangana State Waqf Board v. Mohamed Muzafar.
• A suit has been filed by the Telanagana State Waqf Board before the Andhra Pradesh State Waqf Tribunal, which seeks eviction of the defendant from the property of the Waqf institution.
• The defendant claims the property does not belong to Waqf institution, to which the APS Waqf Tribunal clarified that the property is a Waqf property and that he should evict the property.
• The High Court, on appeal, held that it was not maintainable before the Waqf Tribunal and gave remedy according to the law.

Contention Raised

• The Waqf Tribunal contended that the determination of a property to be a Waqf property is triable exclusively by the Waqf Tribunal, after the Waqf Act was enacted.
• They also contended that if the subject matter of dispute is required to be decided in accordance with the Waqf Act, then the jurisdiction of the suit lies with the Waqf Tribunal and not the Civil Court.
• The defendant contended that when the possession of a property is in dispute, and the case seeks eviction, then the jurisdiction falls within the Civil Court.

Court’s Observation

• The Supreme Court held that an eviction suit is maintainable before the Waqf Tribunal only if the tenant disputes the property to not be a waqf property, because the matter of possession of property with waqf is triable by the Waqf Tribunal only.
• The facts and circumstances of each case would define the jurisdiction of the case and in this case, the possession was disputed in the reply letter by the defendant to the eviction notice, thus, the primary issue to be settled is the possession of the property.
• Therefore the matter was decided by the Waqf Tribunal after considering the facts and evidence in the case.
• The Court restored the decision of the Waqf Tribunal.

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