Our Bureau
New Delhi
This Monday, on September 15th, the Supreme Court consisting of a bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih has ordered a stay on several clauses of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. Among the ones that the court ordered a stay on were – Section 3(1)(r), Section 3C(2), Section 3C(3) and Section 3C(4).
The SC had ordered a stay on Section 3(1)(r) of the Waqf (Amendment) Act which mandates that in order to create a Waqf, a person must have been a practicing Muslim for five years. The court has noted that until the state government makes some rules in order to determine compliance with the condition, the rule will remain in abeyance.
The SC has ordered a stay on Section 3C(2) of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which states that a Waqf property would not be termed as their property until an officer designated by the government submits a report whether land was encroached or not.
Along with them Section 3C(3) of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which has stated that “in case the designated officer determines the property to be government property, he shall make necessary corrections in revenue records and submit a report in this regard to the state government.” In addition, Section 3C(4) was stayed, which stated that the State Government, after receiving the officer’s report, should direct the Waqf Board to make the appropriate corrections.
However, the court did not order a stay on the provision which permits the nomination of non-Muslim members to Waqf Boards. The court stated that as far as possible ex officio members of the boards should be Muslims. They also noted that the Central Waqf Council should not have more than four non-Muslim members, while State Waqf Boards should not include more than three.
