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Supreme Court to pronounce interim order on Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 today
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, has been challenged by petitioners on property denotification, waqf board composition, and government land provisions.
The Supreme Court on Monday will deliver interim orders on three provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the power to denotify properties declared as “waqf by courts, waqf by user, or waqf by deed”.
The order follows petitions questioning the constitutional validity of the new law.
Reserving the interim orders on May 22, a bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai had heard extensive arguments over three consecutive days from both the petitioners’ counsel and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre.
As per the apex court’s September 15 cause list, the verdict will be delivered on Monday.
Among the issues flagged by the petitioners is the scope of denotification of waqf properties under the amended Act. Another objection concerns the composition of state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council, where petitioners argue that membership should remain confined to Muslims, except for ex-officio positions.
A third challenge is to a clause which provides that waqf property will lose its status if the district collector concludes after inquiry that it is government land.
The Centre, in its defence, has maintained that waqf is a “secular concept” and that the amended law enjoys a “presumption of constitutionality”.
It also contended that though waqf is rooted in Islamic tradition, it does not form an essential part of the religion.
Taking a different view, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the law marks a “complete departure from historical legal and constitutional principles” and is intended to “capture waqf through a non-judicial process”.
On April 25, the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs filed a 1,332-page preliminary affidavit, opposing any “blanket stay” on the law. The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, was notified on April 8 after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on April 5.
It had cleared Parliament earlier that month, with the Lok Sabha passing it on April 3 and the Rajya Sabha on April 4.
