Photo: PTI
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its interim orders on three key issues related to the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, following detailed hearings on multiple petitions challenging the law. The issues include the authority to denotify properties declared as “waqf by courts, waqf-by-user, or waqf by deed.”
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih heard senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhavan, and Abhishek Singhvi representing the petitioners opposing the amended law, along with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre, over the course of three consecutive days.
The Centre strongly defended the Act, asserting that waqf is inherently a “secular concept” and emphasising the “presumption of constitutionality” that supports the law’s validity, urging the court not to stay its implementation.
Leading the petitioners, Kapil Sibal described the amendment as a “complete departure from historical legal and constitutional principles” and accused it of enabling the “capture of waqf properties through a non-judicial process.” He stressed that the government cannot restrict the issues that petitioners raise, calling the case “about the systematic capture of waqf properties.”
The petitioners sought interim relief on three principal matters. The first concerns the power to denotify properties that have been declared waqf by courts, waqf-by-user, or waqf by deed. The second relates to the composition of the state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council, where the petitioners argue that only Muslims, apart from ex-officio members, should be eligible to serve. The third issue challenges the provision stating that waqf properties will not be considered as such if a collector, following an inquiry, determines the property is government land.
On April 25, the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs submitted a preliminary affidavit of 1,332 pages defending the amended Waqf Act and opposed any blanket stay by the court, citing the law’s presumption of constitutionality as a law passed by Parliament.
The Centre had notified the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, last month, following President Droupadi Murmu’s assent on April 5. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha with 288 members voting in favour and 232 against, while the Rajya Sabha saw 128 votes supporting it and 95 opposing.
With PTI inputs