The Supreme Court has flatly refused to accept the claim of the Delhi Waqf Board that a property located in Shahdara is a Waqf property. The Supreme Court took this decision after noting that a Gurudwara currently exists on the disputed land.

A division bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma heard the case, in which the 2010 order of the Delhi High Court was challenged by the Delhi Waqf Board. The High Court had rejected the Board's claim and allowed the appeal filed by the respondent, thereby reversing earlier judgments in favour of the Waqf Board.

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The legal dispute dates back to the 1980s, when the Delhi Waqf Board filed a suit to take possession of a mosque located in Oldanpur village in Shahdara. The board claimed that the property was a waqf property used for religious purposes since ancient times.

However, the respondent Heera Singh (now deceased) argued that the property was not waqf land. He claimed ownership of the land through a purchase made from the previous owner Mohammed Ahsan in 1953. Further, he argued that the property was used as a gurdwara under the management of the Gurdwara Management Committee.

It also came to light that two previous suits filed by the Waqf Board in 1970 and 1978 had been withdrawn. Despite this, the trial court ruled in favour of the Waqf Board and its decision was upheld by the first appellate court in 1989.

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However, during the second appeal, the Delhi High Court reversed the findings. It held that the board has failed to prove the permanent dedication of the property as wakf.

The high court said, "Neither the suit property has been permanently dedicated/used as wakf property since time immemorial nor the documentary evidence supports it…the respondent has admitted that it was in possession of the property since 1947-48."

Following this setback, the Delhi Wakf Board approached the Supreme Court in 2012. However, today the Supreme Court refused to entertain the appeal as it took into account the actual presence of a gurdwara at the disputed site.

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During the hearing, senior advocate Sanjoy Ghose represented the Delhi Wakf Board ably.

Case Title: DELHI WAKF BOARD Versus HIRA SINGH (D) THR.LR. AMARJIT SINGH, C.A. No. 2985/2012