New Delhi, June 1: The Supreme Court on Monday raised questions over the legal foundation of claims that Waqf institutions are exempt from paying court fees in proceedings before Waqf Tribunals, placing the issue of statutory compliance at the centre of an ongoing legal dispute involving Waqf property cases.
A Bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Aravind Kumar was hearing a special leave petition challenging judgments of the Gujarat High Court that upheld orders of the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal rejecting suits filed by Waqf institutions due to insufficient payment of court fees.
During the proceedings, the apex court expressed prima facie reservations regarding the argument that Waqf bodies could pursue litigation without paying the prescribed court fees. The Bench orally observed that any exemption from court fees must have a clear basis in law and questioned the existence of any statutory provision supporting such a claim.
The matter arises from disputes concerning Waqf properties, where Waqf institutions approached the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal under Section 83 of the Waqf Act seeking recovery of possession from tenants and alleged encroachers, along with claims for mesne profits. The Tribunal, however, found that the plaintiffs had failed to correctly value their cases and pay the required court fees.
After providing opportunities to rectify the deficiencies, the Tribunal rejected the plaints under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), leading the Waqf institutions to challenge the decision before the Gujarat High Court.
Representing the petitioners before the Supreme Court, advocate Ejaz Maqbool sought additional time to place further material on record and informed the court that more petitions challenging the Gujarat High Court’s December 2025 judgment would be filed. Accepting the request, the Supreme Court granted time and scheduled the next hearing for August 7, 2026.
The controversy traces back to a common judgment delivered by the Gujarat High Court on December 17, 2025. Justice J.C. Doshi dismissed a batch of revision petitions filed by multiple Waqf institutions and examined whether the Gujarat Court Fees Act, 2004 applied to proceedings before Waqf Tribunals and whether provisions of the CPC governed such proceedings.
Waqf institutions had argued that proceedings before the Tribunal were applications before a specialised forum rather than civil suits, contending that the Waqf Act did not specifically prescribe court fees. They further maintained that imposing ad valorem court fees would undermine the objective of legislation intended to protect Waqf properties.
The state government opposed the contention, arguing that the Gujarat Court Fees Act applies to judicial proceedings unless a specific exemption exists. It maintained that disputes involving possession and mesne profits are civil in nature and therefore attract court fees.
The Gujarat High Court ultimately ruled that no statutory exemption was available to Waqf institutions. It held that merely describing proceedings as applications could not exempt them from court-fee requirements when they effectively sought adjudication of rights and recovery of possession. The court also affirmed that the Waqf Tribunal possesses authority to invoke Order VII Rule 11 CPC to reject proceedings where requisite court fees have not been paid.
Subsequently, on January 20, 2026, the Gujarat High Court dismissed another batch of petitions involving identical questions, reiterating the reasoning adopted in its earlier judgment.
