Supreme Court Halts Key Provisions of Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025
The Supreme Court has stayed parts of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the clause restricting waqf creation to practising Muslims for five years, while allowing most provisions to remain in force.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, September 15, put on hold certain provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, but refused to suspend the law in its entirety. A bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said that while challenges to the Act are being examined, only specific clauses warranted an immediate stay.
The court stayed the controversial clause that allowed only those practising Islam for at least five years to create a waqf. It also halted the provision that gave a government-appointed officer the authority to decide whether waqf property had encroached upon government land. However, the bench declined to interfere with amendments that allowed a non-Muslim to serve as Chief Executive Officer of a Waqf Board, though it directed that preference should be given to Muslims for the post. It also upheld the limit on the number of non-Muslims in state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council, which cannot exceed three.
Chief Justice Gavai observed that the presumption of constitutionality always applies to parliamentary laws and can only be set aside in the rarest of cases. The court clarified that while the petitioners had sought to quash the entire legislation, the challenge appeared stronger only against select provisions.
The Act, which was passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in early April and received Presidential assent on April 5, was notified by the Centre on April 8. The Supreme Court had reserved its order in May on key issues, including the power to denotify properties declared as waqf by courts, by usage or through a deed. With Monday’s interim ruling, the larger constitutional questions surrounding the legislation will continue to be argued in court.