'It will remain as it was...': Supreme Court grants 7 days' time to govt to respond to Waqf Act

India's Supreme Court has initiated hearing a batch of 73 petitions questioning the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The Act has been challenged by several religious, political, and social groups like the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, AIMIM, Congress, and DMK.

Major concerns

The bench consisting of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar, and Justice KV Vishwanathan raised concerns regarding three major provisions:

•  Admission of Non-Muslims to Waqf Organizations: The court raised an eyebrow at the reasoning for admitting non-Muslims into Waqf organizations, implying that only Muslim members should be admitted, barring ex-officio members.
• User Waqf: The court observed that de-notifying Waqf status from properties already established by courts could pose grave complications and opined that properties notified as Waqf by courts must not be denotified from that status.
• Collector's Inquiry: The bench challenged a provision that prevents a property from being considered Waqf merely because a collector has initiated an inquiry, proposing that the collector can continue with the inquiry without prejudicing the Waqf status.

Court's observations and proceedings

The court did not issue any interim orders but said that it may consider staying some provisions of the Act. Chief Justice Khanna explained that the court rarely suspends legislation at this stage unless there are extraordinary circumstances, but this situation could be an exception because it could have severe consequences. The court has directed the central government to reply within seven days and has made it clear that Waqf property status will not be altered in the meantime.

Next steps

The hearing will go on with the court examining the Centre's reply and possibly issuing an interim order. The Solicitor General has been requested to table documents, and the court has reiterated that it is not halting the Act but wishes to preserve the existing status with minimal changes.