Faced with an unambiguous position of the Supreme Court on three contentious aspects of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, the Central government on Thursday in a climb-down assured the top court that the key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the nomination of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards and provisions on de-notifying Waqf properties will not be given effect to, for snow.
Recording the statement by the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Central government that till the next date of hearing, Wakf, including ‘Waqf by user’, which is declared by notification or registered, will not be de-notified, Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna heading a bench also comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan posted the matter for hearing in the week commencing on May 5, 2025.
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The Central government also assured the top court that no appointments will be made to the Waqf Council or Waqf boards.
Posting the matter for hearing in the week commencing on May 5, the court said “The hearing on the next date will only be for directions and interim orders if any.”
Giving a week’s time to the central government as sought by it, to file its reply to the petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, the court in its order today said, “During the course of the hearing, the Solicitor General states that the Union (the Central government) would like to put a response within seven days. He further assures the court that no appointments will be made to the Council and the Board. Till the next date of hearing, Waqf, including Waqf by user, already registered or declared by way of notification, shall not be de-notified. We take the statement on record.”
As the matter was taken up for hearing during the post lunch session at 02.00 pm, the Solicitor General Mehta urged the bench not to stay the provisions of Act, saying that the law was enacted after taking into account many representations and suggestions.
“The Government is answerable to the people. The Government received lakhs and lakhs of representation. Villages and villages are taken as Waqf. So many lands are claimed as Waqf. It is a considered piece of legislation,” the Solicitor General told the bench.
The Solicitor General Mehta said that the appointment of Board and Council members is in his hands and it will not happen.
However, CJI Khanna said that states are also involved, they can make appointments in Boards.
Addressing the concern of the court, Mehta assured that “If any state makes any appointment till the court decides the case, it will be treated as void.”
The bench also segregated the cases filed by some Hindu parties challenging the earlier 1995 Waqf law and the amendment’s made in it 2013. The court said that they will be listed separately.
The court also changed the cause title of the case as “Re: Waqf (Amendment) Act.”
Yesterday (Wednesday, April 16), the top court had proposed to pass an interim order indicating that it may stay certain key provision of the Waqf (Amendment) Act including the inclusion of non-Muslims in Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards, provisions on denotifying the properties declared as Waqf and the powers of Collectors on deciding dispute over Waqf properties.
The Chief Justice Khanna had observed yesterday that “government cannot rewrite the history” through the changes brought in by the amendments to Waqf law while referring to the scope under the new Act to de-notify properties declared as Waqf long ago, say 100 or 200 years ago and not registered.
The top court had also questioned the government on how Waqf-by-user can be disallowed as many will not have requisite documents to get such Waqfs registered.
“When a public trust is declared to be a Waqf 100 or 200 years ago… suddenly you say it is being taken over by the Waqf board and declared otherwise,” the bench had said yesterday.
As the Chief Justice was about to dictate the order yesterday, the Solicitor General and other counsels who were appearing for parties defending the Waqf Amendment law, said they should be heard before passing the interim order.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for or Maulana Arshad Madani, the President, Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind, had said that a Collector is the officer designated to decide whether a property is Waqf or not if there is dispute, this person is a part of the government and is thus a judge in his own cause.
The top court is hearing more than 100 petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including by the Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Mohammad Jawed, who was also the member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee that had examined the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief and Lok Sabha member, Asaduddin Owais, the Aam Aadmi Party MLA in Delhi assembly Amanatullah Khan, the President of the Islamic cleric’s body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Kerala Sunni scholars’ body Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulama, Social Democratic Party of India, and the NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR).
Standing for the Waqf (Amendment) Act, BJP-led State governments in Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh have approached the top court opposing the challenge to its constitutionality.
The President Droupadi Murmu on April 5, had given assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on April 3, 2025, and the Rajya Sabha on April 4, 2025.
