New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said it may stay parts of the Waqf Act, 2025—particularly those removing the concept of waqf-by-user, allowing non-Muslim representation on waqf boards, and empowering Collectors to reclassify disputed waqf land.
Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices P V Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan, said this case may be an exception to the Court’s usual reluctance to stay legislation at the initial stage, citing potential wide-reaching consequences of removing waqf-by-user, Indian Express reported.
This concept recognizes land used for Muslim religious or charitable purposes over time as waqf, even if unregistered.
“There are genuine waqf-by-user cases. It’s not right to say they don’t exist,” said CJI Khanna, while acknowledging concerns about misuse.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the law, arguing that waqf properties have been required to be registered since the first Waqf Act of 1923, and this continues under the 2025 law. He said unregistered waqfs, including those by user, should not be considered valid.
The new law also allows a district collector to declare land as government property, overriding waqf status until a court intervenes. The Court said any such determination could be put on hold.
The bench was set to pass an interim order but deferred it to April 17 after Mehta sought more time. It will also decide whether to continue hearing the case or refer it to a High Court.
Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, representing petitioners, argued that nearly half of the 8 lakh waqfs in India are based on waqf-by-user, and the new law wipes them out instantly. Singhvi referred to the Ayodhya judgment that acknowledged waqf-by-user as a long-standing practice.
The CJI also questioned vague terms in the law, such as what constitutes a property “in dispute” or “government property,” noting that many waqf sites predate formal property registration. “To ask for registered deeds from the 14th or 15th century is unrealistic,” he said.
Sibal criticised the amendments as undermining the faith of 200 million Indian Muslims.
