Wakfs Act, 1954 - Ss. 4 and 6-Scope of - Commissioner of Wakfs, if had jurisdiction to hold enquiry whether certain property was wakf property - Failure of stranger to file suit within time allowed by s. 6(1) - Special rule of limitation - If applicable to him - lnclusion of property in the list of wakfs - If final and conclusive.

To provide for the better administration and supervision of wakfs, the Wakfs Act 1954, sought to bring the management of wakfs under the supervision of the State. The Act envisages the appointment of a Commissioner of Wakfs for the purpose of survey of wakf properties existing at the time of the commencement of the Act. The Commissioner is enjoined to submit his report to the State Government after making such enquiries as he may consider necessary. While making enquiries the Commissioner is invested with powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure. Section 6 of the Act provides that if any question arises as to whether a particular property specified in the list of wakfs published under s. 5(2) was wakf property or not and such other related matters, the Board of Muslim Wakfs or the Mutawalli of the wakf or any person interested therein may institute a suit in a Civil Court for decision of the question.

Respondents 1 and 2 were mortgagee-purchasers of the property in dispute, which was claimed to be Wakf property. Respondent No. 3 in his application to the Commissioner of Wakfs alleged that the property in dispute being wakf property its transfer by the mutawalli to the respondents was invalid and prayed that the property be taken over by the wakf committee. While denying that the property in dispute was '-Vakf property respondents 1 and 2 contended before the Commissioner that he had no jurisdiction to make an enquiry whether a particular property was wakf property or not. The Commissioner rejected these contentions and submitted a report to the State Government. On receipt of the Commissioner's report the Board of Muslim Wakfs included the property in the list of wakfs in the State.

In the respondents' Writ Petition, the High Court held (i) that the jurisdiction of the Board of Wakfs was confined to matters of administration of the wakfs and not to adjudication of questions of title and that the Act did not invest either the Board or the Commissioner with power to decide the question whether a property belonged to a wakf or not and therefore the Commissioner had no jurisdiction under s. 4(3) of the Act to enquire whether or not the property was wakf property and (ii) that the failure of a stranger to the wakf to institute a suit in a court of competent jurisdiction within a period of one year on the question whether a particular property was wakf property or not could not make the inclusion of such property in the list of wakfs final and conclusive.

In appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appellants that (i) the words "for the purpose of making a survey of wakf properties" are wide enough to confer power on the Commissioner to investigate and adjudicate upon the question whether a particular property was or was not wakf property and (ii) failure of the respondents to file a suit within the time allowed by s. 6( 1) made the inclusion of the property in the list of wakfs final and conclusive. The word "therein" occurring in "any person interested therein" in s. 6 (l) qualifies the words "wakf property" and not "person interested in the wakfs" as wrongly assumed by the High Court.