‘Prayers alone don’t make it a mosque’: SC rules auqaf listing mandatory for waqf tribunal jurisdiction

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court has ruled that the mere act of offering prayers at a premises does not legally convert it into a mosque, nor does it automatically grant jurisdiction to a waqf tribunal. The apex court held that unless a property is explicitly included in the official ‘list of auqaf’ (Waqf assets), the tribunal cannot entertain suits declaring it a religious site.

The judgment stems from a long-standing dispute regarding the ground floor of a prime apartment complex in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. While the space had been claimed as the ‘Mahmood Habib Masjid and Islamic Centre’ since 2008, the landowner and builder blocked access to the premises in 2021.

Mohammed Ahmed, a petitioner, approached the waqf tribunal to restrain the owners, Habib Alladin and others, from hindering access to the site. The owners challenged this in the Telangana High Court, arguing that the sanctioned building plan never designated the area as a mosque. The High Court, however, rejected their plea, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Setting aside the orders of both the High Court and the waqf tribunal, a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran clarified the scope of the Waqf Act, 1995.

Analyzing Sections 6 and 7 of the Act, the bench observed that the tribunal’s jurisdiction to determine if a property belongs to the Waqf vests only if the asset is already specified in the official list.

A bare reading of the plaint showed that the property was neither specified in the ‘list of auqaf’ published under Chapter II nor registered under Chapter V of the Act, the bench noted. Consequently, the tribunal lacked the statutory authority to adjudicate the matter.

While the Court set aside the tribunal’s assumption of jurisdiction, it explicitly stated that it was not deciding on the concept of “waqf by user” (where long-term use establishes status), leaving that question open. However, the ruling establishes a clear procedural precedent: without a formal entry in the auqaf list, the waqf tribunal cannot step in to declare a property a mosque.