The Supreme Court today(August 7) issued notice in a plea raising the issue of whether waqf institutions can be exempted from payment of court fees in proceedings before State Waqf Tribunals.

A bench comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi issued notice to the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal after briefly hearing Senior Advocate Huzefa A. Ahmadi(for the petitioner).

Ahmadi took the Court through the Gujarat Court-Fees Act, 2004 and argued that the Tribunal constituted under the Act doesn't have the same powers as the civil court.

Justice Misra referred to the General Clauses Act and said if the Tribunal has the power to administer oath and take evidence, then it partakes the character of a court. He recommended that the petitioner deposit the Court fee subject to the outcome in this petition.

To this, Ahmadi stated that the tent living in the wakf is only paying Rs. 150, and added: "It's a huge amount of court fee."

The Court stated it will issue notice, but it's not a case where interim relief can be granted. "It's not a case where we can grant interim relief," Justice Misra said.

To briefly state, the petitioner has challenged the Gujarat High Court's order which upheld the rejection of waqf suits for non-payment of court fees by relying on its earlier ruling that waqf institutions are not exempt from paying court fees before the State Waqf Tribunal.

Earlier, the matter was before a bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Aravind Kumar, which had questioned how the waqf institutions can be exempted from paying court fees.

On December 17, 2025, the High Court dismissed a batch of petitions filed by waqf institutions challenging Tribunal orders rejecting proceedings over disputes relating to waqf properties on account of insufficient court fees. The Court held that there is no blanket exemption or waiver available to waqf institutions from payment of court fees for proceedings instituted under Section 83 of the Waqf Act before the Gujarat State Waqf Tribunal.

The High Court rejected the contention that court fees were not payable because proceedings under Section 83 are initiated through an “application” rather than a “plaint” or “suit”. It held that such proceedings involve adjudication of rights relating to waqf properties, including landlord-tenant disputes, and are conducted in a manner akin to civil suits with written statements, framing of issues, evidence and final adjudication.

The Court further held that the petitioners had failed to point to any notification, circular or statutory provision granting waiver from court fees for such proceedings in Gujarat. It also upheld the Tribunal's reliance on Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC to reject the proceedings after the plaintiffs failed to pay the requisite court fees despite being given opportunities to rectify the defects.

Subsequently, on January 20, 2026, the Gujarat High Court dismissed another batch of petitions under challenging orders of the Tribunal rejecting suits for insufficient court fees. The Court held that the reasons recorded in its December 2025 judgment would govern those petitions as well and dismissed them.

Case Details: AHMEDABAD SUNNI MUSLIM WAQF COMMITTEE Vs GUJARAT STATE WAQF TRIBUNAL|SLP(C) No. 18353/2026 Diary No. 24045 / 2026