The Karnataka High Court has said that only Waqf Tribunals hold jurisdiction over disputes relating to any Waqf property.
The petitioners, who are tenants of structures belonging to Waqf, challenged the eviction orders made under the provisions of Karnataka Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1974.
The eviction notices were issued to tenants of Waqf properties in Mysuru city.
Justice Krishna S Dixit noted that Section 85 of Waqf (Amendment) Act, which came into effect on November 1, 2013, unequivocally indicates that the jurisdiction of “civil court, revenue court and any other authority” is excluded in respect of any dispute, question or other matter inter alia relating to any Waqf property.
“Thus, it is an all pervasive bar and everything now falls within the province of the Waqf Tribunal; if the Parliament intended that the State enactments such as the 1974 Act should continue to apply, it would not have employed a broader sweep language of specifically mentioning ‘any other authority’,” the court said.
The court said that the authorities are at liberty to initiate proceedings before the jurisdictional Waqf Tribunal and in such proceedings, it will not be open to the petitioners to contend that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction.
The petitioners had contended that notices issued under the 1974 Act suffered from jurisdiction.
The authorities defended the action claiming that the 1974 Act being a special legislation and having been assented to by the President of India, over-rides the law enacted inter alia in Sections 83 and 85 of the Waqf Act.
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