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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2025

NEW DELHI – Hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, the Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the Centre on whether they will allow Muslims to be part of Hindu endowment boards. The top court initially proposed passing an interim order, but after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected, it postponed the hearing to Thursday to consider the government's view point.

In its interim order, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna suggested that any property declared as waqf by a court should not be denotified or treated as non-waqf. The apex court has suggested the collector may continue with its inquiry of whether a property declared as waqf is government-owned, but the provision that "such property shall not be treated as waqf property till the designated officer submits his report" should not be enforced. Additionally, the court suggested that while ex-officio non-Muslim members could be appointed to the Waqf Board and Central Waqf Council, other members must be Muslims.

The Supreme Court asked Mehta whether he was willing to state that, apart from ex-officio members, no more than two members of the Waqf Board would be non-Muslims. Mehta agreed and assured the court that this commitment would be submitted in an affidavit. The bench also expressed concern over properties being suddenly claimed by the Waqf Board. It observed that some public trusts were declared waqf a century or two ago, and now the government claims they are under waqf control.

Towards the end of the hearing, Chief Justice Khanna referred to the recent violence surrounding the protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act as "very disturbing." He said that the matter is before the court and will be decided accordingly. The protests in parts of West Bengal resulted in three deaths and several injuries.

The top court was hearing a series of petitions filed by opposition leaders and political parties challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which revised the legal framework governing the administration of waqf properties across the country. The petitioners argued that the amended Act discriminates against the Muslim community and infringes upon their fundamental rights. The petitioners have contested the move to mandate inclusion of non-Muslim members in the Central Waqf Council, state waqf boards, and waqf tribunals. The petitioners claimed this amounts to unwarranted interference in the internal religious affairs of the Muslim community--an approach not applied to Hindu religious endowments, which continue to be managed exclusively by Hindus under various state laws.

The 2025 amendment to the Waqf Act, 1995, introduced significant changes in the administration and management of waqf properties. It shrunk the powers of the Waqf Boards and vested the central government with authority to frame rules for asset management and administration. One major change was the removal of Section 40, which previously allowed the Waqf Board to determine whether a property qualified as waqf. It also streamlined the registration of waqfs through a central portal and database. The new Act allows the appointment of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council, state waqf boards, and waqf tribunals. It also added a provision to allow waqf tribunals to grant an extension of up to six months for registering properties on the central platform.  End

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Subhojit Sarkar

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