BREAKING: SC Declines To Stay Waqf Act, 2025, Puts On Hold Mandatory 5 Years Of Islamic Practice, Other Clauses

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the entire Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, while staying certain provisions of the law, including the one requiring a person to be a practitioner of Islam for five years to create a Waqf.

The top court also stayed the provisions of the law that empowered a collector (DM) to determine whether or not a property declared as Waqf is a government property.

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The provision of mandatory 'practitioner of Islam' for at least five years is stayed till state governments frame rules on determining whether a person is a practitioner of Islam, the top court said, according to legal news website LiveLaw.

The Court also directed that, so far as possible, the Chief Executive Officer of the Waqf Board should be a Muslim, while refusing to stay the amendment allowing the appointment of a non-Muslim as a CEO .

The Apex Court bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai pronounced its interim orders on three key issues, including the power to denotify properties declared as "waqf by courts, waqf-by-user or waqf by deed, which cropped up during the hearing of pleas challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

The bench had reserved the interim orders on these issues on 22 May after hearing both sides of the Waqf case.

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“We have held presumption is always on constitutionality of statute and in rarest it can be done. We have found that entire act is challenged, but basic challenge was sections 3(r), 3C, 14, we have gone to legislative history from 1923 act and considered prima facie challenge to each sections and hearing parties, can was not made out for entire statute,” the Court said.

What did the Supreme Court say?

But sections which are under challenge, we have granted a stay, said the bench in the order.

“1. 3r- need 5 years as practising Islam stands failed until rules are formed, it would lead to arbitrary exercise of powers 2. 2(c) proviso- waqf property shall not be treated as waqf property. 3. 3C- A designed officer making a challenge in revenue records, permitting the collector to determine rights, would be against the separation of powers. Until finality, the rights of properties will not be affected. Until the title is decided, neither waqf will be dispossessed of the property. 4. Shall not consist of more than 4 non-muslim members, and for the State, not more than three. 5. Section 23- Ex officio officer must be from Muslim community," the Court said, as per LiveLaw.

Before reserving the interim order, the bench heard arguments on three consecutive days from advocates appearing for those challenging the amended waqf law and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta , representing the Centre.

The bench previously identified the three issues on which the petitioners sought a stay for passing interim orders.

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Apart from the issue of denotification, petitioners had raised questions over the composition of state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council , where they contend only Muslims should operate, except ex officio members.

Centre defended the Act

The third issue related to a provision that says a waqf property will not be treated as a waqf when the collector conducts an inquiry to ascertain if the property is government land.

The Centre strongly defended the Act, saying waqf was a "secular concept" by its very nature and could not be stayed given the "presumption of constitutionality" in its favour.

On 25 April, the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs filed a preliminary 1,332-page affidavit defending the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, and opposing any "blanket stay" by the court on a "law having presumption of constitutionality passed by Parliament."

Act was passed in April

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 , in April this year. The Centre notified the Act on 8 April after it got President Droupadi Murmu 's assent on 5 April.

(With inputs from LiveLaw)

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