Will SC interim ruling stall Centre’s Waqf law? Judgement to be pronounced today

New Delhi: Will the Supreme Court step in to restrict the Centre’s new Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025? The apex court is scheduled to pronounce its interim orders on Monday (Sep 15) on three contentious issues, including the power to denotify properties declared as waqf by courts, usage, or deed.

A bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai had reserved its orders on May 22 after hearing detailed arguments from both petitioners and the government. The cause list uploaded on the SC website confirms that the orders will be delivered tomorrow.

At the heart of the dispute lies the denotification of waqf properties, a power that petitioners say undermines established legal safeguards. They have also challenged:

• the composition of state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council, arguing that only Muslims (besides ex officio members) should serve on them, and
• a provision allowing collectors to declare a property as government land after inquiry, thereby removing its waqf status.

The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, has defended the Act, stressing that waqf is not an essential religious practice in Islam and should be seen as a secular legal concept. It argued the law enjoys the “presumption of constitutionality” and should not face a blanket stay.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, leading the petitioners, countered that the amendment represents a “complete departure from historical legal and constitutional principles”, calling it a tool to capture waqf properties through non-judicial means.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, passed by Parliament in early April and signed into law on April 8, has already triggered widespread debate across legal and religious circles. The SC’s interim ruling tomorrow could shape how the law is implemented until the case is finally decided.