By The Sampadak Express
The Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed the hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 to May 20 (Tuesday).
A newly constituted bench comprising Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice A G Masih briefly took up the matter, which was earlier handled by the bench of now-retired CJI Sanjiv Khanna. The previous bench had outlined three key areas requiring interim relief.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that a detailed reply had been filed addressing those concerns. He assured that:
1. Waqf properties declared as such by courts would not be de-notified during ongoing hearings.
2. The provision enabling suspension of waqf status during a Collector’s inquiry would not be enforced for now.
3. Only Muslims excluding ex-officio members would be eligible for appointment to Waqf Boards and the Central Waqf Council.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Rajiv Dhavan, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Huzefa Ahmadi, and CU Singh appeared for the petitioners. Sibal noted that a concise submission would be filed identifying provisions of the Act that are, in their view, inherently unconstitutional.
Objections were raised during the hearing over the selection of lead writ petitions, all of which had been filed by Muslim parties. In response, the Court clarified that the matter has been re-designated as In Re: Challenge to Waqf Amendment Act to remove any perception of communal bias.
CJI Gavai also rejected an attempt by Advocate Vishnu Shankar to introduce challenges to the original Waqf Act of 1995 within these proceedings.“
We will not consider any request or stay of the provisions of the 1995 Act. We are making it clear. Just because someone is trying to challenge the 2025 Act, others cannot use this as an opportunity to contest the 1995 Act,” the Chief Justice stated.
The matter will be heard next on May 20.
