The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the provision in the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, that mandates a person must have been a practising Muslim for five years to create a Waqf, directing that the clause will
remain in abeyance until state governments frame rules to determine whether an individual qualifies as a practitioner of Islam.
The Supreme Court also stayed the provision in the Waqf Amendment Act that empowered a government-designated officer to decide disputes over whether Waqf property encroaches on government land.
The Supreme Court pronounced on Monday its interim orders on three key issues, including the power to denotify properties declared as “waqf by courts, waqf-by-user or waqf by deed”, which cropped up during the hearing of pleas challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
A bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai on May 22 reserved the interim orders on these issues after hearing both sides in the waqf case.
One of the issues relate to the power to denotify properties declared as “waqf by courts, waqf-by-user or waqf by deed” prescribed in the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
Before reserving the interim order, the bench heard arguments by advocates appearing for those challenging the amended waqf law, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, on three consecutive days.
The bench previously identified the three issues, on which a stay was sought by the petitioners, for passing interim orders.
