Waqf Amendment Act: Supreme Court grants 7 days to Centre to respond to pleas against Act

The Supreme Court on April 17 stayed the operation of certain parts of the contentious Waqf law, including the inclusion of non-Muslims in the Waqf boards and council, till the next date of hearing on May 5.  

The Chief Justice-led bench also said that the ‘waqf by user’ provision should not be denotified till then. 

The Centre assured the Supreme Court that no appointments would be made to Waqf boards. The new law tweaks the composition of Waqf boards, making it compulsory to include non-Muslims as its members. 

In response to the petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta made the following statements before the Supreme Court: 

1. Non-Muslims won't be appointed to Central Waqf Councils and State Waqf Boards in terms of the amended provisions during the hearing. 

2. Waqfs, including waqf-by-user, whether declared by way of notification or registration, will not be de-notified till the next date of hearing. 

The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, sought 7-days' time to file a response.  

The Court posted the matter to May 5 at 2 pm for the next hearing. The court also changed the cause-title of the case as "In Re: Waqf Amendment Act", according to a Live Law report. The bench clarified that only 5 pleas will be heard regarding the case, as opposed to the 10 pleas listed in the apex court for now, the Live Law report added.

On April 16, the court had proposed to pass an interim order, and the matter was posted today to hear the Union. The court proposed that it would issue an interim order on three issues: 

1. All properties declared by the Court as waqf, whether they are waqf by user or waqf by deed, would not be denotified during the pendency of this matter. 

2. The proviso which says the waqf property will not be treated as waqf while the Collector is determining its status, shall not be given effect to. 

3. All members of the Central Waqf Council and the state waqf boards must be Muslim, except the ex-officio members.