Challenge waqf

Question

► My property, which was bought in 1998, was claimed by the Waqf Board in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh. In 2001, the Waqf board filed a suit in the Waqf tribunal, and after some hearings, they later withdrew the suit, stating that they do not have enough documents and will file the case again when they get the documents. Meanwhile, I filed an RTI to send the copy of documents. They sent an RSR copy where it was mentioned that particular survey number was used for peer celebrations. I have all the link documents since 1964 in which, nowhere, the Waqf board is the owner. Now it's been 25 years; though the property is in my control, Waqf people are not letting me build any permanent structures. Until now they haven't filed a case again with any documents. I filed an RTI again after these 25 yrs to have them send me all documents. But no response. Now, I want to clear it off legally so that I will not have future problems and I can build some permanent structures. Please help me figure out how I could proceed legally about this.

Answer 1

Dear client,

This position is supported by several points of law: You have demonstrated legitimate continuous ownership documents dating back to 1964, you purchased the property legitimately in 1998, and the Waqf Board withdrew their suit in 2001 due to an inability to document their claim and have been inactive for the last 25 years. In several court rulings, the Waqf Board has been ordered to provide documentary evidence to substantiate their claim; the court also held that notification by itself does not prove ownership of property. The Supreme Court held that a gazetted notification does not give a presumption of legal ownership of property by the Waqf because the survey process created by the Waqf Act has not been followed, as required by Section 4 of that Act. The Waqf Board also listed "peer celebrations" on its RSR entry for property that had historical usage, but this does not constitute legal evidence of ownership. Therefore, our next steps will follow this course of action: First, we will file for a Declaratory Suit at the Waqf Tribunal, seeking the declaration that this property is not a Waqf property. We will be supported by the documentation you have produced (links to your title deed, etc.), the evidence obtained via RTI requests and the Waqf Board's own admission of withdrawing the 2001 suit.Eventually, we shall also file a Writ Petition in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, asking to quash any Waqf notification in connection with the property described in your survey number. The last course of action will be an appeal against pending RTI requests to the State Information Commission, requesting either to compel compliance with the RTI requests or to conclude no valid Waqf claim exists. Furthermore, The Waqf Amendment Act 2025 now provides that Decisions of any Tribunal shall now be subject to direct appeals to the High Court for 90 days subsequent to the decision rendered by the Tribunal. As you can see by the strategy, we will stop defending, and will aggressively litigation our title through the courts.

I hope this helps, and if you have any further issues, do not hesitate to contact us.

Challenge waqf

1 Answer