The Supreme Court of India, in a recent judgement, shed light on a critical aspect concerning the legal status of wakf property - a property dedicated for religious or charitable purposes in Islamic law. In the case under scrutiny, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal that sought recognition of a particular land as wakf property. The ruling underlined the vital prerequisite of conducting a survey under Section 4 of the Wakf Act, 1954, before declaring any property as a wakf. The bench, comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice V. Ramasubramanian, emphasized that without such a survey, even if a notification under Section 5 of the Act is issued, it would not validate the land as a wakf.