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Waqf Act

Habib Alladin v. Mohammed Ahmed 2026 INSC 90 - Wakf Act - Tribunal Jurisdiction

No All-Pervasive Bar on Civil Courts: SC Clarifies Waqf Tribunal Jurisdiction

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Wakf Act, 1995 - Section 6,7, 83,85 - Section 83 cannot be considered as a provision conferring jurisdiction on the Tribunal with respect to matters in addition to which already jurisdiction has been conferred under the other provisions of the Act (Para 37) Resolution to disputes with respect to a property being a waqf or not is expressly conferred on the Tribunal, only with respect to those properties specified in the ‘list of Auqaf’; There is no absolute and all-pervasive ouster of jurisdiction of the Civil Court even under Section 85. (Para 47) [Context: In this case, the property was neither specified in the ‘list of auqaf’ as published in Chapter II nor registered under Chapter V. SC held: hence the decision as to whether the property is a waqf property or not cannot be decided by the Tribunal since the property is not one specified in the ‘list of auqaf’, which is the mandatory requirement under Section 6(1) and Section 7(1) of the Waqf Act of 1995 to approach the Tribunal - The injunction simpliciter sought for before the Tribunal does not fall within its jurisdiction and the plaint has to be rejected]

Legislation - An Amendment will be retrospective only if expressly provided for and at times, when it follows by necessary implication - a vested right can be taken away by a subsequent enactment which by express words or necessary intendment makes it retrospective. (Para 31) An amendment by way of substitution does not invariably result in a retrospective application. Retrospectivity is not to be presumed and the presumption is to the contrary, held it was open for the legislature to enact laws having retrospective operation, by express enactment or by necessary implication from the language employed(Para 33)

Precedent - If divergent view has to be taken, necessarily the Coordinate Bench, should referred the matter to a Larger Bench.( Para 28)

Code of Civil Procedure 1908 - Section 9- Even if the statute accords finality to the orders of the Tribunal, a Court will have to see whether the Tribunal has the power to grant the reliefs, which the Civil Courts would normally grant and if the answer is in the negative, ordinarily there can be no inference of exclusion of the Civil Courts’ jurisdiction. (Para 13)

Case Info

Basic Case Details


Case name: Habib Alladin & Ors. v. Mohammed AhmedNeutral citation: 2026 INSC 90Coram: Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod ChandranJudgment date: 28 January 2026 (New Delhi)


Case Laws and Citations Referred

  1. Ramesh Gobindram v. Sugra Humayun Mirza Wakf (2010) 8 SCC 726
  2. Madanuri Sri Rama Chandra Murthy v. Syed Jalal (2017) 13 SCC 174
  3. Faqir Mohamad Shah v. Qazi Fasihuddin Ansari AIR 1956 SC 713
  4. Rashid Wali Beg v. Farid Pindari (2022) 4 SCC 414
  5. W.B. Wakf Board v. Anis Fatma Begum (2010) 14 SCC 588
  6. Akkode Jumayath Palli Paripalana Committee v. P.V. Ibrahim Haji (2014) 16 SCC 65
  7. Punjab Wakf Board v. Pritpal Singh 2013 SCC OnLine SC 1345
  8. Punjab Wakf Board v. Sham Singh Harike (2019) 4 SCC 698
  9. Haryana Wakf Board v. Mahesh Kumar (2014) 16 SCC 45
  10. Bhanwar Lal v. Rajasthan Board of Muslim Wakf (2014) 16 SCC 51
  11. Faseela M. v. Munnerul Islam Madrasa Committee (2014) 16 SCC 38
  12. Telangana State Wakf Board v. Mohamed Muzafar (2021) 9 SCC 179
  13. Kiran Devi v. Bihar State Sunni Wakf Board (2021) 15 SCC 15
  14. Mumtaz Yarud Dowla Wakf v. Badam Balakrishna Hotel Pvt. Ltd. 2023 INSC 949
  15. Syed Mohd. Salie Labbai v. Mohd. Hanifa (1976) 4 SCC 780
  16. M. Siddiq (Ram Janmabhumi Temple – 5 J.) v. Suresh Das (2020) 1 SCC 1
  17. National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) 16 SCC 680
  18. Rajasthan SRTC v. Bal Mukund Bairwa (2) (2009) 4 SCC 299
  19. Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Gurnam Kaur (1989) 1 SCC 101
  20. State of Orissa v. Sudhansu Sekhar Misra AIR 1968 SC 468
  21. Garikapati Veeraya v. N. Subbiah Choudhry 1957 SCC OnLine SC 28
  22. Dayawati v. Inderjit 1966 SCC OnLine SC 44
  23. Hitendra Vishnu Thakur v. State of Maharashtra (1994) 4 SCC 602
  24. Zile Singh v. State of Haryana (2004) 8 SCC 1
  25. Shyam Sunder v. Ram Kumar (2001) 8 SCC 24

Statutes / Provisions Referred

  1. Wakf Act, 1995 (also referred to as Waqf Act, 1995)
    • Section 2 (applicability)
    • Section 3(g) (definition of “list of Auqaf” / “list of Wakfs”)
    • Section 3(r) (definition of “waqf”, including waqf by user)
    • Section 3(ee) (definition of “encroacher” – by 2013 amendment)
    • Chapter II – Survey of auqaf: Sections 4, 5 (esp. 5(2))
    • Chapter V – Registration of auqaf: Sections 36–37 (esp. 37 register of Auqaf)
    • Chapter VII – Waqf Tribunal: Section 83 (constitution and scope)
    • Section 6 (disputes as to whether property is waqf, and Shia/Sunni)
    • Section 7 (power of Tribunal to determine such questions)
    • Section 33 (inspection and recovery orders; appeal to Tribunal)
    • Section 35 (furnishing security / conditional attachment)
    • Sections 38, 39, 40 (various Board/Tribunal powers)
    • Sections 47, 48 (audit and orders on audit)
    • Sections 51, 52, 54 (especially 54(3), 54(4) – removal of encroachers post‑2013)
    • Sections 61, 64, 67, 69, 72, 73 (management, schemes, contribution, etc.)
    • Section 85 (bar of jurisdiction of civil courts, revenue courts and other authorities)
    • Section 94 (where mutawalli fails to perform duties)
  3. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
    • Order VII Rule 10 (return of plaint)
    • Order VII Rule 11 (rejection of plaint)
  5. Other incidental statutes mentioned in passing (e.g. Societies Registration Act, 1860) in cited cases.

Habib Alladin v. Mohammed Ahmed 2026 INSC 90 - Wakf Act - Tribunal Jurisdiction
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