Madhya Pradesh High Court: In a civil revision challenging the State Waqf Tribunal’s order dated 24-07-2003 on the ground that Waqf Tribunal had no jurisdiction to decide the suit under the provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995, a single-judge bench of Sanjay Dwivedi, J., held that the Waqf Tribunal did not have jurisdiction to decide the suit as it was pending before the commencement of the Waqf Act, 1995. Consequently, the Court set aside the Tribunal’s judgment and remitted back the suit to be decided by the civil court as per the original jurisdiction.
Factual Matrix
In the instant matter, the plaintiff-respondent filed a suit on 06-09-1993 in District Court, Bhopal seeking declarations and injunctions regarding land bearing khasra No.1196, 1197, 1198, 1199, and 1200, totalling 3.14 acres, claimed to be Qabristan land and Waqf property. The suit property is Qabristan land dedicated for charity and burial purposes as recorded in the revenue records. The plaintiff requested the Court to declare the land as Waqf property, set aside the mutation, NOC and construction permissions granted to private persons (defendants 6 to 9 and 11), restrain the defendants from constructing on the land, grant possession and demolition of encroachments and award compensation for use and occupation of the land at Rs.1,000/- per month from the date of suit filing until possession is restored.
During the suit’s pendency, the Waqf Act, 1954, was amended by the Waqf (M.P. Amendment) Act, 1994, leading to the creation of Waqf Tribunals and subsequent transfer of the case to the Waqf Tribunal.
Moot Point
Whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to decide the suit in light of Section 7(5) read with Section 85 of the Waqf Act, 1995, given the pending status of the suit before the civil court at the time of the Waqf Act’s enforcement?
Parties’ Contentions
The appellants-defendants contested the suit’s maintainability before the Tribunal and argued that it fell outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction as per Sections 6 and 7 of the Waqf Act, 1995, and Section 82 of the M.P. Cooperative Societies Act, 1960. The appellants cited Sardar Khan v. Syed Najmul Hasan, (2007) 10 SCC 727 and asserted that the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction over pending suits from before the Waqf Act, 1995. However, the respondents argued that the Tribunal had jurisdiction and correctly decided the suit, as the suit’s subject matter fell outside Subsection (1) of Section 6, per Section 83 of the Waqf Act, 1995.
Court’s Analysis
The Court reviewed Section 7(5) of the Waqf Act, 1995, which excludes Tribunal jurisdiction over matters pending in civil courts before the Waqf Act’s commencement. The Court noted that the Supreme Court in Sardar Khan (Supra) clarified that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction over suits or proceedings pending before the Act’s commencement. The Court noted that the subject matter of the suit fell within Section 6(1) as it concerned the status of the property as Waqf property, hence falling outside the Tribunal’s purview post-1995 Act. The Court held that the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to decide the suit as the dispute was pending before the civil court prior to the enforcement of the Waqf Act, 1995. The suit should not have been transferred to the Tribunal, thus invalidating the Tribunal’s judgment.
Court’s Decision
The Court held that the Tribunal did not have jurisdiction to decide the suit transferred from the civil court as the Waqf Act, 1995 was not applicable to pending suits. The Court set aside the Tribunal’s decision and remitted back the suit to the civil court where it was originally filed, ensuring proper jurisdiction is maintained.
[Rubab Bai v. M.P. Wakf Board, 2024 SCC OnLine MP 3556, order dated 29-05-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Shri R.K. Sanghi, Shri Siddharth Kumar Sharma and Shri Ashish Giri, Counsel for the Petitioners
Shri Utkarsh Agrawal, Counsel for the Respondent No. 1
