Supreme Court Directs Wakf Tribunal Jurisdiction in Dispute Between Wakf Board and Gram Panchayat

Case Snapshot

• Case Name: Punjab Wakf Board v. Director Rural Development And Panchayats & Ors.

• Citation: 2026 INSC 930 (Non-Reportable)

• Bench: Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran

• Date of Judgment: August 19, 2026

• Area of Law: Wakf Law, Land Revenue Law, Jurisdiction, Property Disputes

The Judgment in One Line

Supreme Court holds that disputes relating to property included in the Wakf list must be adjudicated by the Wakf Tribunal, ousting Collector's jurisdiction.

Why This Judgment Matters

This judgment resolves the jurisdictional conflict between the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 and the Wakf Act, 1995. It establishes that if a property is included in the official list of wakfs, the Wakf Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction under Sections 6 and 85 of the Wakf Act. The ruling clarifies that the Collector's jurisdiction under the Punjab Act stands ousted in such cases. The judgment also provides a clear procedural pathway: the Tribunal must first verify if the property is actually in the wakf list before proceeding.

Background

The dispute involved a piece of land claimed by both the Punjab Wakf Board and the Gram Panchayat. The High Court held that the matter fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of

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