Supreme Court 'Banjara Hills property not a mosque without entry in Waqf list'

The Supreme Court has held that the offering of prayers by Muslims at a premises in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, which is not included in the official list of auqaf, does not give it the character of a mosque, and ruled that unless a mosque stands on waqf land, a waqf tribunal cannot entertain a suit to declare the place a mosque.

The ruling relates to the ground floor of an apartment complex on prime land in Banjara Hills, which has been claimed as a mosque since 2008.

Access to the premises was stopped in 2021 by the



owner of the land and the builder of the apartments.

Mohammed Ahmed filed a suit before the waqf tribunal seeking to restrain Habib Alladin and others from causing hindrance to those visiting the Mahmood Habib Masjid and Islamic Centre functioning from the premises.

According to a report, the owner of the plot moved the Telangana High Court, stating that the sanctioned building plan made no mention of the disputed area as a mosque and that the tribunal could not have entertained the suit. The High Court rejected the plea.