The Supreme Court of India is considering a stay on sections of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, following a series of petitions questioning the newly enacted law. A bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on April 16 suggested that the court could suspend certain sections of the Act.
The three issues are the revocation of waqf-by-user, the addition of non-Muslims to Waqf boards, and powers excessively awarded to district collectors over waqf properties. The hearing continues April 17, when interim orders are likely. The nation is watching as the court’s ruling could determine the balance between religious freedom, state control, and constitutional rights.
BIG BREAKING NEWS 🚨 Supreme court refuses to grant interim stay on Waqf Act.
Supreme Court orders status quo in Waqf matter.
All Waqf properties must be preserved in their current state until the next hearing.
Centre has been asked to reply within 7 days.
SC said Waqf Act… pic.twitter.com/DOJmYuLYxW
— Times Algebra (@TimesAlgebraIND) April 17, 2025
What is ‘Waqf ‘ and Why does it matter?
Waqf is a property given for religious or charitable causes under Islamic law. It can be land, a building, or even assets. Once it is announced as waqf, the property cannot be sold or transferred. Such assets are managed by a Waqf Board, which ensures they are utilized for mosques, graveyards, madrassas, or welfare programs.
India’s waqf institution originated during the Delhi Sultanate. Over centuries, individuals entrusted properties to society without documentation. Legislations such as the Waqf Act of 1954 and 1995 created a contemporary legal infrastructure. Nonetheless, significant sections of this legacy depend on a legal principle named waqf-by-user.
Waqf-by-User: The core contention
The 2025 Act does away with waqf-by-user, a centuries-old legal principle. It permits properties employed for religious or charitable use to qualify as waqf on the basis of continuous usage — even though they were never actually registered.
Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi contended that among the almost 8 lakh waqf properties that currently exist, practically half qualify as by-user. “This provision eradicates them in one go,” he said.
Kapil Sibal further stated that most of them have no documents, since they were established centuries ago. “How can you expect a mosque of the 14th century to yield a document of registration?” he quipped. The court concurred, observing that Jama Masjid and other heritage sites exist only under waqf-by-user.
The Centre, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, took a different view. He asserted that registration has been compulsory since 1923. Even waqf-by-user, he asserted, is subject to legal registration under all previous Waqf Acts. But the court asked whether it’s equitable to invalidate centuries-old waqfs retrospectively.
What is Waqf–by-User?
Waqf-by-user is an Islamic charitable doctrine of law whereby land or property is automatically considered waqf (endowment) merely because it has been perpetually put to use for charitable or religious purposes, though without written documentation.
In simple terms, if property has long existed as a graveyard, mosque, or madrasah — even without being formally registered — then it is very likely waqf property. This is doctrine that traditionally preserved properties bequeathed to, or preserved by, Muslim societies for generations on end when proper registration could not be possible, or indeed legally required.
Most of the mosques, dargahs, and graveyards in India fall under this premise. The Supreme Court petitioners contend that repealing this tenet erases the legal validity of almost half of all currently existing waqf properties.
Why is it controversial now?
The 2025 amendment to the Waqf Act does away with the idea of waqf-by-user. Petitioners contend this wipes out centuries-long religious properties in a single night, particularly those formed before the existence of registration laws. The Supreme Court was worried that requiring registered deeds for properties constructed in the 14th or 15th century is practically impossible.
Non-Muslims on Waqf Boards
The second concern relates to the induction of non-Muslims to Waqf Boards. Two non-Muslim members in every State or UT Waqf Board are required under the new Act and also representation from Bohra and Aghakhani communities.
This was challenged by Kapil Sibal under Article 26, which guarantees religious denominations’ rights to handle their own affairs. He contended that only 8 of 22 members of the Central Waqf Council are Muslims in the new framework.
“Would the government permit Muslims on Hindu religious trusts?” the court asked bluntly. When the Solicitor General attempted to deflect by challenging the impartiality of the bench, the judges responded curtly. “When we sit here, we lose our religion,” they asserted judicial neutrality.
Collector’s role: Executive overreach
The third one is with regard to Section 3C. It enables a district collector or a superior officer to investigate whether a waqf property is indeed government land. Until the inquiry is complete, the property by itself ceases to be a waqf.
The court pointed this out as profoundly troubling. “Is this fair?” it inquired. “Even before the collector has arrived at a decision, you divest the property of its character?” The worry is that the clause facilitates backdoor land acquisition without due process.
Minority institutions under the scanner?
This scandal is part of a larger story. Critics say the 2025 Waqf Act follows the recent trend of growing state domination of religious and community institutions.
Legislations regarding church properties, temple trusts, and now waqf boards are making people wonder: Is the government centralising control over minority assets? Is this part of a larger ideological drive?
The Act’s proponents believe that accountability and transparency are needed. According to them, waqf properties tend to be mismanaged, and registration provides legal clarity. But its opponents worry that true waqfs will get lost in technicalities.
What happens next?
No formal stay has yet been issued by the Supreme Court. It preferred to wait after the Centre and the states sought extra time. But oral comments from the bench leave no doubt that the court perceives “exceptional” grounds to act.
The hearing resumes on April 17 at 2 pm before CJI Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan. Everybody is waiting with bated breath for the possible interim relief.
Stakes are high for Rights and Property
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, has rekindled controversies surrounding religious freedom, administrative justice, and constitutional protection. The Supreme Court now has the challenging task of reconciling heritage and legality, community rights and state authority.
Its ruling will probably not only shape waqf administration, but also the way India deals with minority-governed institutions in the future.
The Risk of Erasing Religious Heritage
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, by doing away with waqf-by-user, lays down a contemporary bureaucratic norm on ancient establishments. The action, according to critics, is more than a legislative fine-tuning — it runs the risk of making centuries-old religious monuments invalid because of the lack of documentation.
The Supreme Court itself recognized this point while hearing the case, pointing out how mosques dating back as early as the 14th or 15th century cannot reasonably be held to provide registered deeds.
This raises a larger question: Can state processes rewrite history and denotify holy spaces just because they don’t conform to today’s documentation system?
