SC Upheld Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025

General Studies Paper-2

Context

• The Supreme Court has upheld the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 while striking down few provisions and balancing state regulation with minority rights.

Key Amendments of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025

• Composition of the Central Waqf Council: The Union Minister in-charge of waqf is the ex-officio chairperson.
• Council members include:
  • Members of Parliament (MPs).
  • Persons of national eminence.
  • Retired Supreme Court/High Court judges.
  • Eminent scholars in Muslim law.
  • Removes the Muslim requirement for MPs, former judges, and eminent persons.
  • It mandates two non-Muslim members in the Council.
• Composition of Waqf Boards:
  • Empowers state governments to nominate one person from each group.
  • Non-Muslim members required: two.
  • Must include at least one member each from Shias, Sunnis, and Backward Muslim classes.
  • Requires two Muslim women members.
• Composition of Tribunals:
  • Removes the expert in Muslim law.
  • District Court judge (Chairman).
  • Joint Secretary rank officer.
• Appeals Against Tribunal Orders:
  • Act: Decisions of Tribunals are final, with no appeals allowed in courts.
  • Amendment: Allows appeals against Tribunal decisions to the High Court within 90 days.
  • Survey of Properties: The Act replaces the Survey Commissioner with the District Collector or other senior officers to oversee the survey of Waqf properties.
• Government property as waqf: It states that any government property identified as waqf will cease to be so.
  • The Collector of the area will determine ownership in case of uncertainty, if deemed a government property, he will update the revenue records.
  • Audits: Waqf institutions earning over ₹1 lakh will undergo audits by state-sponsored auditors.
  • Centralized Portal: A centralized portal will be created for automating Waqf property management, enhancing efficiency and transparency.
  • Property Dedication: Practicing Muslims (for at least five years) can dedicate property to the Waqf, restoring pre-2013 rules.
  • Women’s Inheritance: Women must receive inheritance before the Waqf declaration, with special provisions for widows, divorced women, and orphans.

Key changes SC has incorporated into the Act

• Practicing Islam: The Court’s most significant intervention concerns Section 3(r), which requires anyone creating a waqf to demonstrate they have been practising Islam for at least five years.
  • The court stayed the provision until the government frames rules for determining religious practice.
• Collector’s Power Over Waqf Properties: Section 3C empowers the district collectors to determine whether properties claimed as waqf actually belong to the government.
• Court’s ruling: Stayed provision that allowed stripping waqf status before inquiry is complete, calling it “prima facie arbitrary”.
  • Directed that waqf properties cannot be dispossessed or altered until final decision by Waqf Tribunal and any subsequent appeals.
• Representation in Waqf Administration: Its amended Act allowed up to 12 non-Muslims on the Central Waqf Council (22 members) and 7 non-Muslims on state boards (11 members).
  • The Court’s ruling has capped this at 4 (Central) and 3 (State).
  • CEOs of Waqf Boards should, “as far as possible”, be Muslims (not mandatory).
  • This balance sought transparency & inclusivity vs. minority autonomy in religious affairs.
• “Waqf by User” Deletion: Earlier law allowed declaring property as waqf based on longstanding religious use without formal documents.
• Court’s ruling: It upheld deletion, clarified that this change applies only prospectively—existing waqf-by-user properties registered before April 8, 2025, remain protected.
• Protected Monuments: The court declined to interfere with provisions declaring waqf status void for properties that are protected monuments or belong to Scheduled Tribes.

Conclusion

• A law made by Parliament carries a presumption of constitutionality unless a court strikes it down.
• While SC refused to stay the Waqf Act, it stayed certain provisions “to protect interest of all parties and balance equities during pendency”.