Oral wakf by user can exclude religious land from net wealth where long-standing dedication is proved.

Disputed land was treated as wakf property where the evidence showed an immemorial oral wakf by user for religious purposes. An oral dedication is complete on declaration, and long-standing use for a mosque and imambara can establish wakf even without a written instrument. In such a case, absence of registration under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 or the Registration Act, 1908 does not defeat the wakf; registration is relevant mainly for wakfs created by written deed and for regulatory record-keeping. On the facts, board records, earlier declarations and the succession of mutawallis supported wakf status, so the land was excluded from net wealth.

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Issues: Whether the disputed land constituted wakf land so as to be excluded from the assessee's net wealth for wealth-tax purposes.

Analysis: An oral wakf is completed by a declaration of endowment, and where land has been used from time immemorial for a religious purpose, the property may be treated as wakf by user even without express written dedication. If the wakf is created orally or by user, the absence of registration under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 or the Registration Act, 1908 does not by itself defeat the wakf; registration becomes relevant only when the wakf is created by a written instrument. The scheme of the wakf enactments relied upon shows that registration is designed for record maintenance and regulatory control, and non-registration does not nullify the existence of a wakf. On the evidence, including earlier declarations, board records, the succession of mutawallis, and long-standing use of the land for the mosque and imambara, the existence of an immemorial oral wakf by user was established.

Conclusion: The disputed 480 bighas were wakf land and could not be included in the assessee's net wealth; the department's appeal failed.

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