New Delhi: During the ongoing hearing on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, the Supreme Court on Wednesday proposed that waqf properties, including those categorized as “waqf by user,” should not be de-notified. However, the government of India opposed the suggestion and sought time to present its stand before any such directive is passed.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing the GoI, assured the court that no waqf property—declared or registered, including “waqf by user”—will be de-notified until the next hearing. He also stated that no new appointments would be made to the Waqf Council and Waqf Boards under Sections 9 and 14 of the Act.
Taking this assurance on record, the top court granted the Centre seven days to file its response. “Till the next date of hearing, no waqf property, including those registered or declared through notification, shall be de-notified, nor will the collector be changed,” the court stated in its interim order.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) further noted that only five writ petitions would be heard to streamline proceedings, saying it is not feasible to manage over a hundred similar petitions. The rest will be treated as disposed of.
The CJI also directed parties to appoint nodal counsels and clarified that the matter would be referred to simply as the Waqf (Amendment) Act case, without naming individual petitioners or parties.
The bench acknowledged senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s suggestion to explicitly include “waqf by user” in the interim protection, to which the CJI responded, “It includes waqf by user.”
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was passed in the Lok Sabha on April 3 with 288 votes in favour and 232 against, and in the Rajya Sabha on April 4 with 128 supporting and 95 opposing.
