हाई कोर्ट ने 1100 एकड़ के दावे को ठुकरा दिया; 2.34 एकड़ तय

“How can there be 1,100 acres of land when only 2.34 acres is owned? Nellai Mosque – Chennai (Madras) High Court delivers a sensational verdict in Waqf case!” The Chennai (Madras) High Court has dismissed a case filed claiming 1,100 acres of land as Waqf property for a mosque in Tirunelveli when the mosque is entitled to only 2.34 acres of land. Justice M. Dhandapani ruled that, based on the grant made by the then ruler of the Madurai Samasthanam in 1712, the mosque is entitled only to 2.34 acres. The new Waqf Amendment Act came into force on 4 April 2025. Petitions challenging this Waqf Amendment Act were heard by a bench consisting of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan. During the hearing, the Supreme Court raised several questions to the Central Government. Subsequently, on September 15, the judges refused to impose an interim stay on the Waqf Amendment Act, though they stayed some provisions and ordered the suspension of others. In this context, the Chennai (Madras) High Court dismissed the claim of a mosque in Tirunelveli district which had sought recognition of over 1,100 acres of land as Waqf property. It ruled that under the copper-plate inscription grant made by the then ruler of the Madurai Samasthanam in 1712, the mosque is entitled only to 2.34 acres. Justice Dhandapani delivered this verdict after allowing a civil revision petition filed in 2018 by the Tamil Nadu Government challenging an order dated 18 August 2016 of the Waqf Tribunal (Tirunelveli Principal Sub-Court) in favour of the Kanmiya Pallivasal (mosque) Muthavalli at Kandiaperi. In the revision petition, the State Government argued that the mosque had no ownership over any land. Senior Advocate V. Raghavachari for the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board and Amicus Curiae Sevanan Mohan also presented detailed arguments, which were heard by the judge before he arrived at his decision. Additional Advocate General Veera Kathiravan argued that all the survey numbers listed by the mosque in its civil case filed in the Waqf Tribunal in 2011 had been notified under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Inam (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1963 in the year 1966. The Government stated that the properties were declared as Ryotwari lands, thereby extinguishing the Waqf’s ownership, and many portions of those lands had been distributed to landless poor. It was also brought to the court’s notice that 362 people are cultivating those lands on the basis of patta (title deeds) allocation. While rejecting some of the Government’s contentions, the judge said once a property is declared as Waqf, it remains so. He said the copper-plate Telugu inscription had been deciphered as early as 1925, so the 1712 grant to the mosque cannot be doubted. That inscription states that it is “Sarva Manyam for the benefit of the mosque dharma” and that “as long as the sun and moon exist, this will pass from son to grandson.” The tax-free grant made by the former ruler of the Madurai Samasthanam is also recorded in the Inam Fair Register of 1865 and 1866. The Subordinate Court of Tirunelveli (then called Tinnevelly) had also confirmed the mosque’s ownership over the grant on March 8, 1955. The judge noted that although the government had been a party to that case, it had not appealed the order, and hence it had become final. However, as far as the extent of land the mosque is entitled to, the copper-plate inscription mentions only 75 “Kottas” of land. The judge pointed out that a Google search shows that each Kotta/Katta equals 0.03124 acres. Therefore, the judge ruled that the mosque has ownership of only 2.34 acres in total and nothing more. He directed the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board to identify the land based on the description and boundaries given in the copper-plate inscription. He also noted that the Land Measurement and Boundaries Act came into effect only in 1923, and before that there was no practice of assigning survey numbers to lands. In such circumstances, the mosque had failed to explain how it claimed ownership over several survey numbers covering 1,100 acres. Concluding his judgment, the judge recorded his appreciation: “This Court places on record its gratitude to the learned Amicus Curiae Mr. Sevanan Mohan for his valuable assistance in presenting a sound interpretation of the legal position on this issue, which enabled this Court to express its opinion on all aspects of the law relating to the problem at hand.” R.Amarvannan Zee News From Chennai