SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh directed the Government of Jammu and Kashmir to establish one or more Tribunals as mandated under the Wakaf Act, The Excelsior reported.
The petitioners, who occupy Waqf properties as licensees, have raised concerns regarding arbitrary increases in monthly rent. Their argument revolves around the expectation that the Waqf Board, as an instrumentality of the State, should act fairly and in the public interest. The Waqf Board purportedly increased the rentals of the petitioners’ properties without providing them with an opportunity to be heard.
While deciding bunch of petitions, Justice Sanjeev Kumar observed, “from the careful reading of Sub-Section (1) of Section 83 of the Act, it clearly comes out that each State Government which would include Union Territory as well is put under an obligation to constitute one or more Tribunals, as it may think fit, by issuing notification in the Official Gazette”.
The High Court emphasised that no Civil Court, Revenue Court, or other authority can entertain suits or legal proceedings concerning Waqf properties, as such matters fall under the Tribunal’s purview, as stipulated in Section 85 of the Act.
Given the legal framework outlined in Sections 83 and 85 of the Act, the High Court concurred with the petitioners’ counsel that failing to entertain these writ petitions would render the petitioners remediless. Consequently, the Court reminded the Government of the Union Territory of its statutory duty under Section 83 of the Act to establish one or more Tribunals to address grievances effectively.
Until the Government establishes the Tribunal/Tribunals per Section 83 of the Act, the subject matter of these writ petitions will remain in status quo, as directed by the High Court.
