SC puts partial hold on Waqf law: No new appointments, status quo till May 5
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday paused the implementation of select provisions of the amended Waqf law, including the mandate to induct non-Muslims into Waqf boards and councils, until the matter is taken up again on May 5, media reports said.
The bench, headed by the Chief Justice, also directed that the ‘waqf by user’ clause must not be denotified during this period, reported India Today.
The Centre told the court it would refrain from making any appointments to the boards under the new law, which alters the board’s composition to make non-Muslim representation mandatory.
"SG (Tushar) Mehta assured that till the next date, no appointment shall take place to board and councils under the 2025 Act. He also assures that the status of waqfs, including waqf by user, already declared by notification or gazetted, shall not be changed," the court recorded in its order, according to the report.
Appearing at the outset, SG Mehta termed any stay—direct or indirect—on the Waqf law as an extreme step that should not be taken merely on the basis of a surface reading.
"We received lakhs and lakhs of representations before the amendments were made. Villages were taken as waqfs. Private properties were taken as waqfs... Your lordships are taking a serious and harsh step by staying directly or indirectly statutory provisions," he submitted, the report said.
The court clarified that it was not staying the law in its entirety.
"We have said there were some positive things in the law. We have stated that there cannot be a complete stay. But, we also don't want the situation to change which is prevailing now... like the 5 years following Islam one, we are not staying that," the bench observed.
This referred to another controversial clause in the legislation, which bars Muslims from creating waqf properties unless they have completed five years of practising Islam.
A day earlier, the apex court had hinted at staying certain sections of the law, citing concerns over the far-reaching consequences of some of its provisions.
However, it had refrained from issuing an order at the Centre’s request.
The Waqf law has triggered widespread protests.
In West Bengal, violent clashes occurred last week.
Murshidabad district alone witnessed three killings, and several were injured amid the unrest.
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