The Supreme Court will resume on April 17 the hearing on pleas challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which began on Wednesday.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan is hearing the matters. The top court stopped short of passing the interim order on Wednesday.

The three-judge bench was about to dictate the interim order when Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for Centre, sought more time. The Court then said that it would hear the case again on April 17 before passing orders.

Three provisions flagged

During the hearing, the court raised concerns over three provisions in the amended law while suggesting that it may stay these parts of the contentious law. These three parts include the concept of ‘Waqf-by-user’, representation of non-Muslims on Waqf boards, and the powers of the Collector to change the status of disputed Waqf land.

“We do not stay a legislation normally at this stage of the challenge unless in exceptional circumstances. This appears to be an exception. Our concern is that if waqf-by-user is de-notified, there could be huge consequences,” Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna said in an oral observation.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, that came into force earlier this month, has been challenged by a batch of petitions. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the bill during the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the proposed law on April 5.

The Waqf-by-User

The amended Waqf law has scrapped the concept of ‘Waqf-by-user’.

The concept of ‘Waqf-by-user’ refers to a practice where a property is recognised as Waqf based on its long-term, uninterrupted use for such purposes, even if there isn’t a formal registration. This provision in the amended law can potentially raise questions on the status of many waqf properties.

“As far as Waqf-by-user is concerned, it will be very difficult to register. So, there is ambiguity there. You may argue that waqf-by-user is also being misused. You have a point there… You may have a point that’s being misused also, but at the same time, there is genuine waqf-by-user also. You can’t say that there is no genuine waqf-by-user either,” CJI Khanna said during the hearing.

In defence of the provision in the amended law, Mehta said registration of waqf properties had been mandatory since the first Waqf Act in 1923.

Nomination of non-Muslims on Waqf Boards

Appearing for petitioners, senior advocate Kapil Sibal spoke about Sections 9, 14 in the new law regarding the nomination of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards. This, Sibal said, was a direct violation of Article 26.

Section 9 in the new law restricts Muslims to just eight people in a council of 22 members and Section 14 for Waqf Boards, providing essentially for four Muslims out of 11 nominated members in states and Delhi.

“Whenever it comes to Hindu endowments, do you allow Muslims to be members of these bodies? Say it openly. We are dealing with a Council dealing with religious affairs,” the bench asked Solicitor General (SG) Mehta.

The SG said that the new rule would apply only to Boards reconstituted after the coming of the Act.

The role of District Collector

The new law also says in Section 3C that if any question arises as to whether any Waqf property is government property, an officer above the rank of District Collector shall conduct an inquiry and determine whether the property belongs to the government.

“Is this fair? The moment the collector starts inquiry and even when he has not decided yet, you say that it cannot be treated as waqf. We want an answer – what purpose will be served by this proviso?” the Court said.

Senior advocates Sibal, Rajiv Dhavan and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners. said that the Act was a clear violation of fundamental rights of Muslims. SG Mehta is appearing for the Centre.

(With inputs from Bar and Bench and LiveLaw)