Waqf Act: No Change In Status For Now, SC Gives Centre 7 Days To Reply

Waqf Act Hearing In SC: The Supreme Court on Thursday gave seven days to the Centre to reply while hearing a bunch of pleas against the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The court asked the Centre to ensure no waqf appointments are made and no change is done in the status until the next hearing.

The government assured the top court that it won't denotify 'waqf by deed' and 'waqf by user' till the next hearing. No such properties would be denotified, nor would their character be altered, the Centre said.

The bench directed the Centre to submit its reply within the stipulated time and adjourned the hearing.

Mehta said, "Government is answerable to people. The government received lakhs and lakhs of representation, and villages after villages are being taken as Waqf. So many pieces of land are claimed as Waqf. It is considered a piece of legislation."

While hearing a clutch of petitions on Wednesday, the Supreme Court indicated three concerns -- the validity of Waqf by user properties declared earlier by court decrees which now may become void, having non-Muslims as majority members in Waqf Council, and pending enquiry by the collector on disputed Waqf property, the declaration that the same will not be treated as Waqf property.

The Centre has opposed the suggestion when the court proposed to order that the properties declared as Waqf, including "waqf by user", wouldn't be de-notified.

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