A.S. Hibathullah, et al. vs. Mohamed Alavi Nawaz Gafoor, et al. – CA WKF/02/19-2021

In the case between A.S. Hibathullah and others (Plaintiff-Respondents) and Mohamed Alavi Nawaz Gafoor, Majid Abdul Cader, Mohamed Riyaz Mohamed Hamza, Ahmed Jazeem Mohamed Arif, and others (Defendant-Petitioners and Defendant-Respondents), the court addressed whether failure to initially file the statutory Director’s certificate with the original plaint—required under section 9E(3) of the Muslim Mosques and Charitable Trusts or Wakfs Act—constituted a fatal irregularity or a curable defect where the certificate was later submitted with an amended plaint. The court held that such a procedural defect was remediable during the proceedings provided no material prejudice was caused to the defendants, reaffirming the principle that substantive justice takes precedence over strict procedural tec