Waqf Amendment Act Partially Stayed by Supreme Court; Key Regulations Under Scrutiny

The Supreme Court has issued a partial stay on the Waqf Amendment Act, specifically addressing several clauses. The court has suspended the provision requiring individuals to be practicing Muslims for five years to establish a Waqf. The court also restricted the number of non-Muslim members on the Waqf board, limiting individual members to no more than three and a total of four. The court has also ruled that the provision pertaining to the criteria for creating a Waqf will be suspended pending the creation of clear rules to determine whether a person is a practitioner of Islam. Furthermore, the court has stayed the clause in the Waqf Act that granted authority to a Collector to determine if a property designated as Waqf is a government property and to make decisions. Chief Justice of India Justice BR Gavai noted that Collectors should not have the power to adjudicate individual rights, as it violates the separation of powers. Advocate Anas Tanweer, who challenged the Waqf Act, said that the Supreme Court found a prima facie case for a stay on certain provisions. The court has not halted the entire Act, but it has suspended particular parts, like the five-year requirement, because of the absence of a verification method. Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi welcomed the decision, seeing it as a restraint on potential government overreach and a relief for land donors. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was approved by President Droupadi Murmu on April 5, after debates in Parliament. The Central government had previously urged the court not to stay any provision of the Act, stating that constitutional courts generally do not interfere with statutory provisions and issue final judgments. The Centre’s position was that the amendments only pertained to the secular management of properties and did not infringe on religious freedoms guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the Centre, said that only the 2013 amendment granted such rights to non-Muslims, whereas the 1923 law did not allow them to create Waqfs, fearing it could be used to defraud creditors.