New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday held several provisions of the recently implemented Waqf Act for seven days and directed the Central Government to maintain the status quo till the next hearing.
A bench of CJI Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar and KV Vishwantan acknowledged the assurance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the government would not make appointments Central waqf council And the AUQAF Board 2025 according to the WAKF Amendment Act and that the WAQF declared by the user will not be registered under the original 1995 Act.
In addition, the Apex court directed the government to file a response to the petitions within a week and allow the petitioners to challenge the amendment act, followed by a resounder in five days.
Here are the major takeaets from the hearing
- The SC directed the Central Government to maintain the status quo till the next hearing. The apex court set the next hearing on 5 May.
- The apex court directed the government that Waqf, whether declared through notification or registration, including Waqf-by-user, will not be de-notified until the next date of hearing.
- In addition, it told the government that non-Muslims will not be appointed in Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards.
On the other hand, the bench said that it was impossible to deal with many arguments on the issue and clarified that only five of them would ask the lawyers to decide who would argue. The petitioners said, the petitioners said, “You can register their joy for the answer to the Center within five days of the government’s response to the government’s response.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Center whether Muslims would now be allowed to be part of Hindu religious trusts, as it listened to a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
“How will you register such a Waqf by the user? What documents will they have? It will lead to undo something. Yes, there is some misuse. But I am real. I have also gone through the decisions of the Privy Council. Waqf is recognized by the user. If you do it then it will be a problem,” said the bench.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, obtained the presidency on 5 April, after passing in both houses of Parliament amid hot debates. In the Rajya Sabha, 128 members supported the bill while 95 opposed it.
In the Lok Sabha, the bill was passed in favor of 288 votes and against 232. A total of 72 petitions have been filed to challenge the Act, including AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamit Ulama-e-Hind, DMK and Congress MPs Imran Pratapgari and Mohammad Jabde.
The Center has filed a warning demanding a hearing before an interim order is passed in the apex court.
