Supreme Court Decision on WAQF BILL of INDIAN GOVERNMENT |JHANSIWALA PRATHAM |

Описание: Here is a brief summary of the Supreme Court decision of 15 September 2025 concerning the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025:


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Background

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 introduced significant changes to the law governing waqf (religious endowment) properties in India.

Among its key changes were: requiring someone establishing a waqf to have been a practicing Muslim for at least five years; deleting or restricting the concept of “waqf by user”; giving state officers authority to determine whether a property claimed as waqf is government property; and expanding or altering the composition of Waqf Boards to include non-Muslim members.



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What the Court held on 15 September 2025 (Interim Order)

The Supreme Court refused to stay the entire amended Act — that is, it did not put the whole law on hold.

However, the Court stayed (suspended) certain key provisions of the Act pending full hearing.

Some of the stayed provisions include:
• The requirement that a person must have practiced Islam for 5 years before creating a waqf (until rules are framed to implement that test).
• The provision giving a designated officer (above Collector rank) power to decide whether a property claimed as waqf is actually government property (in absence of such a decision, the property cannot be treated as waqf).

On the issue of “waqf by user” — the doctrine that permits a property to be treated as waqf based on continuous use rather than formal registration — the Court did not stay its deletion. The Court said the legislature’s decision to abolish it prospectively cannot prima facie be said to be arbitrary.



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Significance and Observations

The Court struck a balance between allowing the law to function while protecting against possible misuse of controversial provisions.

The decision is interim — the final constitutionality of the amendments is yet to be decided after full arguments.

The judgment signals judicial caution: while allowing reforms in waqf administration, the Court is wary of granting open powers that could enable state overreach, particularly in religious institution matters.



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