NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday put a hold on several provisions of the recently enacted Waqf Act for seven days and directed the central government to maintain the status quo till the next hearing.
The bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanthan accepted solicitor general Tushar Mehta’s assurance that the government will not make appointments to the Central Waqf Council and Auqaf Boards as per the 2025 Wakf Amendment Act and that properties already declared waqf by user and registered under the original 1995 Act will not be disturbed.
Further, the apex court also directed the government to file a response to the petitions within a week and allowed petitioners, challenging the amendment Act, to file a rejoinder in five days thereafter.
Here are the key takeaways from the hearing
- The SC directed the Union government to maintain a status quo till the next hearing. The apex court scheduled the next hearing on May 5.
- The apex court directed the government that Waqfs, including waqf-by-user, whether declared by way of notification or registration, will not be de-notified till the next date of hearing.
- Further, it told the government that non-Muslims won’t be appointed to Central Waqf Councils and State Waqf Boards.
The bench, on the other hand, said it was impossible to deal with a number of pleas on the issue and clarified it would only five of them while asking lawyers to decide among themselves who would argue. The petitioners, the bench said, could file their rejoinders to the Centre’s reply within five days of the service of the government’s response.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre whether Muslims would now be allowed to be part of Hindu religious trusts, as it heard a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
“How will you register such waqfs by user? What documents will they have? It will lead to undoing something. Yes, there is some misuse. But there are genuine ones also. I have gone through privy council judgments also. Waqf by user is recognised. If you undo it then it will be a problem,” the bench said.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, received presidential assent on April 5 after being passed in both houses of Parliament amid heated debates. In the Rajya Sabha, 128 members supported the bill while 95 opposed it.
In the Lok Sabha, the bill was passed with 288 votes in favour and 232 against. A total of 72 petitions have been filed challenging the Act, including those by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, DMK, and Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed.
The Centre has filed a caveat in the apex court seeking a hearing before any interim order is passed.
