Waqf Amendment Act / What changes did the Supreme Court's decision make in the Waqf Act?

Waqf Amendment Act: The Waqf (Amendment) Act-2025 has been implemented after being passed by Parliament and approved by the President. However, petitions were filed in the Supreme Court regarding some provisions of this law. A two-judge bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice BR Gavai, while hearing five petitions, has put a temporary stay on some provisions of the law. This stay will remain in effect till the final decision is taken. In this article, we will know what changes have come in the Waqf law due to this decision of the Supreme Court, what was before and what is now.

Ban on Section 3(r): Condition of following Islam

There was a provision in the Waqf Act that a person can waqf (donate) the property only if he has been following Islam for at least five years. This provision was included in Section 3(r). The Supreme Court has stayed it until the state governments make clear rules or mechanisms to determine whether a person is a Muslim or not. The court says that without this provision, there will be a possibility of misuse of power without proper mechanism.

Similarly, the Waqf (Amendment) Act-2025 also provided that to become a member of the Waqf Board, a person must follow Islam for more than five years. The Supreme Court has also stayed this condition, until the state governments make appropriate rules for it.

Ban on the mandatory report of the Collector

Section 3C of the Waqf (Amendment) Act-2025 provided that no property would be considered a Waqf unless the authorized officer (Collector) confirms that there is no encroachment or government ownership in the property. The Supreme Court stayed this provision, saying that giving the Collector the right to decide on the personal rights of a person would violate the decentralization of powers.

Limit on number of non-Muslim members

The new law had a provision that the 11 members of the Waqf Board could also include non-Muslims. The Supreme Court gave a clear direction on this that the number of non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board should not exceed three. Apart from this, the number of non-Muslim members among the 22 members of the Central Waqf Council cannot exceed four.

No ban on Section 23

Section 23 of the Waqf Act provides for the appointment of ex-officio member (CEO) of Waqf Boards. The Supreme Court did not put any ban on this, but suggested that as far as possible, only a Muslim person should be appointed to this post.

No ban on registration of Waqf properties

The Supreme Court did not put any ban on the provision related to the registration of Waqf properties. The court admitted that this system already existed. Some petitions sought amendment in the time limit for registration, to which the court said that this issue has been taken into account in their order. The court clarified that there was a system of registration from 1995 to 2013, and now it has been implemented again, so this is not a new provision.

No ban on removing the definition of Waqf by User

The earlier Waqf Act had a provision of "Waqf by User", under which if a property was in the possession of Waqf for a long time, it was considered a Waqf property even if its documents were not available. This provision has been removed in the new law. The Supreme Court did not put any stay on this change.

Challenge to the law

The Waqf (Amendment) Act-2025 was passed by the Lok Sabha on 3 April 2025 and by the Rajya Sabha on 4 April 2025. After this, it was approved by the President on 5 April 2025. Through this new law, an attempt has been made to make the management and settlement of Waqf properties more transparent. However, some provisions of this law were challenged in the Supreme Court, in which its legality was questioned and a demand was made to repeal it. The Supreme Court, while refusing to repeal the law, has put a temporary stay on some provisions, which will remain in force till the final decision.