New Delhi, September 02: The Supreme Court has ruled that a tenant of
a Waqf property can be evicted only by a Civil Court and not by the
Wakf Tribunal.
A bench comprising Justice Markandey Katju and Tirath Singh
Thakur disagreed with the views of High Courts of Andhra Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab and Haryana and also
with the Waqf Tribunal, who have held that only Wakf Tribunal can
order the eviction of a tenant as the jurisdiction of the Civil
Courts is barred as per sections 6 and 7 of the Wakf Act.
Justice Thakur speaking for the bench ruled that the jurisdiction
of the tribunal was limited to deciding whether or not a property
was Wakf property and whether a Wakf was a Shia Wakf or Sunni Wakf
and sections 6 and 7 of the Wakf Act barred jurisdiction of
Civil Courts in the specifically enumerated circumstances.
The apex court further ruled,
”The bar is not complete so as to
extend to other questions that may arise in relation to Wakf
property.
The contrary view expressed by the tribunal and the Andhra
Pradesh High Court is not legally sound. Also, the view taken by the
High Courts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab and
Haryana do not declare the law correctly and are over ruled.”
The ruling was handed down by the apex court yesterday on an
appeal by three tenants of Wakf property whose eviction was ordered by the
Andhra Pradesh Wakf Tribunal and their appeal was dismissed by the
state High Court holding that the tribunal has the jurisdiction to decide
all disputes pertaining to the Wakf property.
Allowing the appeals of the tenants, the apex court further said,
”The right, title and interest of a stranger (a non-Muslim), to the
Wakf in a property cannot be put in jeopardy because that property
is included in the list of Wakf.
The Wakf Act permitted only the Wakf Board or the Mutawalli
(caretaker) of the Wakf or a person interested in the Wakf to move a
plea before the tribunal.”