Kochi: The Supreme Court has rejected pleas to stay the entire Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, even as the Apex Court stayed
certain provisions of the law, legal portal Live Law said.
The Supreme Court in its interim order stayed the rule that made it mandatory for a person to be a practitioner of Islam for five years to create a Waqf till the state governments framed rules on determining whether a person is a practitioner of Islam.
According to LiveLaw, the court stayed the provisions of the law that empowered a collector (DM) to determine whether or not a property declared as Waqf is a government property.
The Apex Court bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai gave the interim order during the hearing of pleas challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The court had reserved the orders on May 22 after hearing both sides of the Waqf case.
The court heard arguments for three days in a stretch from those opposing the amendment.
Representing the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta strongly defended the Act, saying Waqf was a “secular concept” by its very nature and could not be stayed given the “presumption of constitutionality” in its favour.
On 25 April, the centre filed an affidavit defending the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
The Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in April this year and it was on April 8 after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on 5 April.
