The Supreme Court questioned the legal basis for exempting Waqf institutions from paying court fees before State Waqf Tribunals. The Court sought to know under which law such an exemption could be claimed while hearing a challenge to the Gujarat High Court’s ruling.
The Supreme Court questioned the basis for exempting Waqf institutions from paying court fees to State Waqf Tribunals.
A petition has been filed before the Court challenging a decision of the Gujarat High Court from this year.
During the hearing, a Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Aravind Kumar asked Advocate Ejaz Maqbool,
“How can there be an exemption? What is the law which allows you to take an exemption from court fees?”
ALSO READ: Land-Grabbing Tactic Affecting Hundreds of Families: Kerala High Court Slams Waqf Board
Maqbool requested the Court to list the matter after some time. The Bench agreed to take it up in August.
Before the Gujarat High Court, a batch of petitions were filed under Section 83(9) of the Waqf Act, 1995, challenging the impugned judgment and order of the Waqf Tribunal.
In those cases, the Tribunal had rejected the plaint while exercising jurisdiction under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, on the ground that the plaintiffs had paid insufficient court fees for the purpose of jurisdiction and court fees, despite being given an opportunity to cure the deficiency.
The revision petitions were primarily argued on the basis that the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, would not apply to Waqf suits brought under the Waqf Act. It was further contended that, since the Waqf Act does not provide for payment of court fees in Waqf suits, the Tribunal committed a serious and manifest error in rejecting the plaint under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC.
The High Court, however, found no merit in these submissions. It noted that in the Waqf suits, the original plaintiffs had sought relief for recovery of vacant and peaceful possession of the demised premises along with mesne profits.
Since the suits were filed without paying sufficient court fees and were not properly valued for the purposes of jurisdiction and court fees, the High Court held that the Tribunal’s action was justified. Consequently, a Bench of Justice J.C. Doshi dismissed the petitions.
Earlier, in December 2025, the Gujarat High Court had dismissed nearly 150 petitions filed by Muslim Waqf institutions seeking exemption from paying fees to the State Waqf Tribunal in order to access a court of law.
Justice J.C. Doshi dismissed petitions involving contested rent claims, possession disputes, and rights of occupancy over significant properties across the state.
Waqf trusts including the Sunni Muslim Idgah Masjid Trust, the Vadodara Saher Masjid Sabha Trust, and the Sarkhej Roza Committee in Ahmedabad challenged orders of the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal that required court fees to be paid before the disputes could be heard.
It said,
“The court observed that they had sought reliefs before the tribunal which were adversarial in character wherein rights and obligations of contesting parties are required to be judicially determined. ‘An application instituted under section 83 of the Waqf Act, forming part of the judicial proceedings contemplated under Chapter VIII thereof, therefore, partakes the character of a plaint or suit and necessarily attracts the provisions of the Gujarat Court Fees Act, 2004″
Case Title: AHMEDABAD SUNNI MUSLIM WAQF COMMITTEE Vs GUJARAT STATE WAQF TRIBUNAL