AIR 2014 SUPREME COURT 501 ::2013 AIR SCW 6887 ::(2016) 1 CLR 607 (SC) ::(2014) 1 WLC(SC)CVL 76 ::(2014) 122 RevDec 382 ::(2014) 3 All RentCas 14 ::2014 (16) SCC 45 ::(2014) 1 RecCivR 311 ::(2013) 14 Scale 199 ::AIR 2014 SC (Civil) 485 ::(2014) 102 All LR 261 ::(2014) 2 Cal HN 153 ::(2014) 2 All WC 1148 ::(2014) 1 ICC 678 ::(2013) 2 RentLR 668 ::(2014) 1 LandLR 117 ::(2014) 133 AllIndCas 65 (SC)

Supreme Court Of India

Hon'ble Judge(s): K. S. Radhakrishnan, A. K. Sikri , JJ

Haryana Wakf Act (43 of 1995) , S.7, S.85— Civil P.C. (5 of 1908) , S.9— Wakf property - Bar of jurisdiction of Civil Courts - Suit for possession filed after coming into force of Act - Tribunal constituted under Act has exclusive jurisdiction to decide same. As per sub-section (1) of Section 7 of the Act, if a question arises, whether a particular property specified as wakf property in a list of wakfs is wakf property or not, it is the Tribunal which has to decide such a question and the decision of the Tribunal is made final. When such a question is covered under sub-section (1) of Section 7, then obviously the jurisdiction of the Civil Court stands excluded to decide such a question in view of specific bar contained in Section 85. It would be pertinent to mention that, as per sub-section (5) of Section 7, if a suit or proceeding is already pending in a Civil Court before the commencement of the Act in question, then such proceedings before the Civil Court would continue and the Tribunal would not have any jurisdiction. Present suit was instituted in the year 2000 i.e. after the Wakf Act, 1995 came into force. Therefore, the present case is not covered by Exception to Section 7(5) of the Wakf Act. Thus, on a plain reading of Section 7 read with Section 85 of the Act, it becomes manifest that wherever there is a dispute regarding the nature of ....