The Supreme Court on Monday declined to impose a blanket stay on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, while granting limited interim relief on contentious provisions. A bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, along with Justice A.G. Masih, stressed that courts must exercise restraint when asked to suspend laws passed by Parliament.

“By now, it is a settled principle of law that the courts should be very slow in granting interim relief by way of staying the provisions of an enactment,” the bench observed, underlining that such orders can only be issued in “rare and exceptional cases.” The court, therefore, rejected the plea seeking a blanket stay on the Act’s implementation.

Limited Relief on Select Clauses

Among its interim directions, the court stayed the requirement that only a person “professing Islam for at least five years” could create a waqf, until state governments frame rules to determine the criteria. The bench also restricted the powers of designated officers under Section 3C, directing that no third-party rights can be created over disputed properties until their status is finally determined by tribunals.

On the issue of representation, the bench capped non-Muslim membership in the Central Waqf Council at four out of 22 members and in State Waqf Boards at three out of 11. It also advised, though without mandating, that Chief Executive Officers of Waqf Boards should, “as far as possible,” be appointed from within the Muslim community.

The court, however, refrained from intervening in the controversial deletion of the “waqf by user” provision, noting that custodians (mutawallis) who failed to register waqf properties for over a century cannot now demand exemptions. “If the legislature… finds that on account of the concept of ‘Waqf by User’, huge government properties have been encroached upon and to stop the said menace it takes steps for deletion, the said amendment prima facie cannot be said to be arbitrary,” the bench said.

Key Provisions Upheld

The Supreme Court also declined to stay Section 3D, which nullifies claims declaring protected monuments as waqf properties. The provision was enacted after the Archaeological Survey of India flagged difficulties in preserving monuments due to overlapping claims. The bench pointed out that the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, already safeguards customary religious practices at such monuments.

Similarly, Section 3E, which bars declaring land in Scheduled or Tribal areas as waqf property, was upheld. The bench said the provision has a “clear nexus” with its objective of safeguarding the interests of tribal communities, describing them as “one of the most marginalised and vulnerable sections of our country.”

The court clarified that its observations were made only for the limited purpose of deciding interim relief and will not prejudice final arguments on the Act’s constitutional validity.

Challenge to the Law

The petitions, filed by several organisations and individuals, had argued that the amendments were unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14, 15, 25, 26, 29 and 30, alleging that the law’s real intent was to “expropriate waqf properties” under the guise of regulation. The Union government, however, defended the amendments, insisting they were designed to prevent misuse, protect waqf assets, and bring greater transparency in management.

After hearing arguments over three sittings, the Supreme Court reserved its order before issuing Monday’s ruling, which marks a setback for petitioners seeking an immediate halt to the law.