The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the legal basis for exempting waqf institutions from payment of court fees in proceedings instituted before State Waqf Tribunals.
The Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Aravind Kumar made these observations while hearing a petition challenging orders of the Gujarat High Court, which had upheld decisions of the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal rejecting proceedings initiated by waqf institutions on the ground of non-payment and insufficiency of court fees.
Appearing for the petitioners, Advocate Ejaz Maqbool sought time to place additional petitions on record challenging the Gujarat High Court orders, delivered in December 2025 and January 2026. The request prompted the Bench to examine the legal foundation of the claim that waqf institutions were entitled to a blanket exemption from payment of court fees.
Justice Narasimha questioned the source of such an exemption and asked under which statutory provision or legal framework waqf institutions could claim immunity from court fee requirements. The Court observed that any exemption from court fees must flow from a specific statutory mandate and could not be presumed in the absence of clear legal authority.
Advocate Maqbool submitted that the issue would be addressed in detail and sought an adjournment. Accepting the request, the Supreme Court granted time and listed the matter for further hearing on August 7, 2026.
The dispute arises from a series of judgments of the Gujarat High Court concerning the maintainability of proceedings instituted by waqf institutions before the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal without payment of prescribed court fees.
In its judgment dated December 17, 2025, the High Court dismissed a batch of petitions filed by waqf institutions challenging Tribunal orders rejecting proceedings relating to disputes over waqf properties for want of sufficient court fees. The High Court held that there is no blanket exemption, waiver, or statutory immunity available to waqf institutions from payment of court fees in proceedings instituted under Section 83 of the Waqf Act before the State Waqf Tribunal.
The High Court rejected the contention that court fees were not payable merely because proceedings under Section 83 of the Waqf Act were instituted by way of an application rather than a plaint or civil suit. It held that such proceedings involve adjudication of substantive civil rights in relation to waqf properties, including issues of title, possession, management, and landlord-tenant disputes.
The Court further observed that proceedings before the Tribunal are conducted in a manner akin to civil suits, involving pleadings, written statements, framing of issues, recording of evidence, and final adjudication of disputed questions of fact and law. In view of this quasi-civil adjudicatory framework, the requirement of court fees cannot be dispensed with merely on the basis of the nomenclature of proceedings under the Waqf Act.
The High Court also recorded that the petitioners failed to point to any statutory provision, notification, or executive instrument in force in Gujarat granting exemption or waiver of court fees for proceedings before the Waqf Tribunal. It accordingly upheld the Tribunal’s insistence on payment of the prescribed court fees.
Upholding the Tribunal’s approach, the High Court also approved its reliance on Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, holding that where parties fail to cure defects relating to court fees despite being granted opportunity, the rejection of proceedings is justified in accordance with law.
Subsequently, on January 20, 2026, the High Court dismissed another batch of petitions challenging similar Tribunal orders on the ground of insufficient court fees. It held that the reasoning and conclusions recorded in its December 2025 judgment would squarely govern those matters as well, resulting in their dismissal.
The issue now remains pending before the Supreme Court, which will examine the legal sustainability of the High Court’s interpretation of the Waqf Act and determine whether waqf institutions were entitled to any exemption from payment of court fees in proceedings before State Waqf Tribunals.
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