Supreme Court Partially Stays Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025

On 15th September 2025, the Supreme Court stayed key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, while refusing to freeze the law in its entirety.

Key Points

Five-Year Faith Requirement: The Act required proof of practising Islam for at least five years before creating a waqf. The court stayed this provision as arbitrary due to the absence of a mechanism to verify compliance.
Section 3C – Government Property Doubts: The court struck down as “totally unconstitutional” the clause that a waqf would lose its character merely upon a doubt being raised about it being government property.
Protection from Dispossession: The court directed that waqfs cannot be dispossessed nor records altered until ownership disputes are decided by Waqf Tribunals and, if needed, reviewed by High Courts.
Government Property Safeguards: To protect public assets, Mutawallis (managers) of disputed waqfs were directed not to create third-party rights until final tribunal decisions.
Representation in Waqf Bodies:
- Central Waqf Council: Maximum of four non-Muslims out of 22 members.
- State Waqf Boards: Maximum of three non-Muslims out of 11 members.
- Chief Executive Officers of State Boards should be Muslims “as far as possible.”
Mandatory Registration of Waqfs: The court upheld the 2025 Act’s emphasis on registration, noting that earlier laws since 1923 required registration. Mutawallis cannot claim exemption after decades of non-compliance.
Protected Monuments: The argument that waqfs lose religious rights if designated as protected monuments was rejected.