Supreme Court Interim Stay on Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025

The Supreme Court of India, on September 15, 2025, passed an interim order granting stay to select provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, but refused to stay the entire Act. Key provisions stayed include:

• The clause in Section 3(r) that mandates a person must have practised Islam for at least five years before creating a Waqf. This provision is stayed until State Governments frame rules for a mechanism to determine this religious practice period.
• Provisions allowing a government-designated officer to decide disputes on whether Waqf property encroaches on government land. This was stayed due to concerns about violation of separation of powers by executive officers adjudicating such rights.
• Restrictions on creating third-party rights over disputed properties until tribunals decide the matter.
• The Court permitted nomination of non-Muslim members to Waqf Boards but limited the number to a maximum of four non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and three in State Waqf Boards. It suggested the ex officio member ideally should be Muslim.
• The Court did not stay significant changes such as abolishing "Waqf by user" and applying the Limitation Act on Waqf encroachment cases.

The interim stay balances constitutional challenges, including alleged violations of Muslim community autonomy under Article 26 of the Constitution, while upholding that a total stay of the statute is warranted only in rare cases. The stay remains until final adjudication on the petitions challenging the Act's validity.

About Waqf

Waqf is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law, where a Muslim donates movable or immovable property such as land, buildings, or money for religious or charitable purposes.
Once a property is declared as Waqf, it cannot be sold, transferred, or inherited and is considered the property of God, with its benefits used for public or family welfare. The donated assets are meant to provide ongoing support to institutions like mosques, madrasas, hospitals, or community services such as shelter for the poor.
 
Key characteristics of Waqf include:

• The creator (Waqif) must be legally competent and own the property being endowed.
• Waqf property is permanently dedicated and removed from the market as an asset.
• The purpose must be purely charitable or religious.
• The property and its benefits are dedicated to God's ownership with beneficiaries named for the returns or usufructs.
• Waqfs can be movable (money, shares) or immovable (land, buildings).
• It serves as a sustainable endowment for social welfare, supporting communities across generations.

Waqf has a deep historical and social significance in Muslim communities, encouraging philanthropy while ensuring continuous benefits from the endowed assets for public good, education, healthcare, and religious needs.

About Waqf Board

• A Waqf Board is a statutory body established under the Waqf Act, 1995, to administer, manage, and regulate Waqf properties, which are permanent religious or charitable endowments in Islamic law.
• Each state in India has its own Waqf Board that acts as a legal entity capable of acquiring, holding, and transferring Waqf properties. These properties are dedicated for religious, charitable, or pious purposes and are meant to be perpetual.
• The main functions of a Waqf Board include managing Waqf properties, preventing their illegal occupation or encroachment, recovering lost properties, and ensuring that the income from these properties is used according to their designated purpose.
• The Board also has the authority to sanction the transfer of Waqf properties with approval from its members.
• A Waqf is managed by a mutawali (supervisor), but the Board provides broader administrative oversight.
• The Central Waqf Council, established in 1964 under the Ministry of Minority Affairs, advises and supervises the state-level Waqf Boards.
• The Waqf Act mandates registration of all Waqfs and aims to ensure transparency and accountability in their administration.

As of recent data, the Waqf Boards collectively manage around 8.7 lakh properties covering about 37 lakh acres, making them substantial custodians of property in India.
 Thus, the Waqf Board plays a crucial role in preserving and managing Islamic endowments for religious, charitable, and community welfare purposes in India.

Key Provisions of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025

The Waqf Amendment Act 2025, also known as the UMEED Act (Unified Management Empowerment Efficiency and Development Act), introduces significant changes to improve transparency, accountability, inclusivity, and governance of Waqf properties in India. Key provisions include:
Key Provisions of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025

• Renaming and Rebranding: The Act is renamed as the UMEED Act to reflect unified management, empowerment, and development of Waqf properties.
• Inclusion of Non-Muslim Members: Provision for inclusion of non-Muslim representatives in Central and State Waqf Boards to promote inclusivity.
• Removal of 'Waqf by User': The Act abolishes the "Waqf by user" concept, which allowed properties to be declared Waqf based on long-term religious use.
• Eligibility to Dedicate Waqf: Only persons practicing Islam for at least five years can dedicate property as Waqf.
• Protection of Women's Inheritance Rights: Women and children must receive their rightful inheritance before property can be declared as Waqf, with special safeguards for widows, divorced women, and orphans.
• Separation of Trusts from Waqf: Trusts created by Muslims under other laws will no longer be governed by Waqf regulations.
• Abolition of Section 40: Removes the Waqf Board’s authority to arbitrarily declare any property as Waqf land, preventing misuse.
• Protection of Tribal Lands: Prohibits any declaration of Waqf on lands under Schedules V and VI of the Constitution to protect tribal land rights.
• Investigation and Dispute Resolution: Government land claimed as Waqf must be investigated by senior government officers. Disputes are resolved by senior officials replacing the Waqf Tribunals’ previous role.
• Appeal Mechanism: Introduces a provision for appealing Waqf Tribunal decisions to the High Court within a specified timeframe.
• Enhanced Transparency through Digitalization: Mandates registration of all Waqf properties on a centralized digital portal within six months to improve governance.
• Waqf Tribunal Composition: Maintains a three-member tribunal consisting of a district judge, state government officer, and a Muslim law expert.
• Limitation Act Applicability: Applies the Limitation Act, 1963 to Waqf properties to reduce long-pending disputes.

Significance

This amendment aims to modernize Waqf property management by ensuring better governance, inclusivity, protection of property rights, especially for women and tribal communities, and establishing clearer legal procedures for Waqf properties in India. The Act responds to past challenges of mismanagement, opaque ownership claims, and lack of uniformity across states.
This summary captures the core aspects of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 focused on transparency, inclusivity, legal clarity, and better management of Waqf properties.

Supreme Court’s interim order Waqf Amendment Act 2025

On September 15, 2025, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order that partially stayed the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, while declining to impose a complete stay on the entire law
. The court's decision put several contentious provisions of the new law on hold, primarily on grounds of potential arbitrariness and violation of the principle of separation of powers. 

Key provisions that were stayed

The interim order specifically addressed the following sections of the 2025 Act: 

• Five-year practice rule: The court stayed Section 3(r), which mandated that only a person who has been practicing Islam for at least five years can create a waqf. The court found this provision arbitrary without a clear mechanism to determine a person's religious practice and stated the stay would remain until the government frames such rules.
• Collector's powers over disputed property: The court put on hold the provisions of Section 3C that gave wide-ranging powers to a district collector to adjudicate whether a waqf property is, in fact, government land. The court held that executive officers cannot make final determinations on property titles, as this is a judicial or quasi-judicial function. Disputed property will now retain its waqf status until a tribunal or court makes a final decision.
• Non-Muslim representation limits: While not staying the inclusion of non-Muslims in waqf bodies, the court capped their representation to prevent a non-Muslim majority. The Central Waqf Council will have no more than 4 non-Muslim members out of 22, and State Waqf Boards no more than 3 out of 11. 

Provisions that were not stayed

The court did not halt the implementation of several other significant changes introduced by the 2025 Act, including: 

• Abolition of 'Waqf by user': The court did not stay the removal of the "waqf by user" concept for future dedications. The government argued this was being misused to encroach on government land.
• Applicability of Limitation Act: The court upheld the provision that makes the Limitation Act, 1963, applicable to legal claims concerning waqf property, removing the previous indefinite time limit for reclaiming encroached property. 

Context of the challenge

The interim order came in response to nearly 65 petitions challenging the new law, arguing that it interfered with the Muslim community's right to manage its own religious affairs under Article 26 of the Constitution. The government had defended the changes as necessary reforms to ensure transparency and prevent misuse of waqf properties. The Supreme Court's interim ruling strikes a balance between protecting community rights and allowing for regulatory oversight, but the final verdict on the constitutional validity of the 2025 Act is still pending. 

Significance of the Supreme Court’s interim order on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025

• The interim order protects the fundamental right of the Muslim community to manage their religious affairs by staying provisions seen as potentially infringing on religious freedom and autonomy under Article 26 of the Constitution.
• By staying provisions that grant excessive administrative powers to district collectors, the Court safeguards the principle of separation of powers and reduces risks of arbitrary executive intervention in Waqf management.
• The selective stay reflects the judiciary's careful balancing act—protecting constitutional rights without disrupting the entire legislative framework, providing scope for the government to frame rules on contentious clauses like the "practising Islam" requirement.
• The ruling limits the scope for partisan or arbitrary control over religious endowments and seeks to maintain communal harmony by regulating non-Muslim participation on Waqf Boards in a balanced manner.

Overall, the Supreme Court's interim order on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, sets important constitutional precedents on religious autonomy, separation of powers, and minority rights while allowing the legislative process to continue with judicial oversight until the final decision on the Act's constitutionality is reached.  

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