The Supreme Court of India is set to resume hearing on May 5 a series of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. This comes after the Centre, facing tough questions from the apex court, agreed not to denotify any Waqf properties or appoint members to the Central Waqf Council until the hearing. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, argued that the law was passed after due parliamentary debate and should not be stayed without hearing the Centre’s side. The court, acknowledging the government’s submission, directed that no registered Waqf properties — including those classified as “waqf by user” — be disturbed until further orders.

In its defense, the Centre submitted a 1,332-page affidavit on April 25, maintaining that the amended law respects Islamic faith while tightening the framework around Waqf property identification. It noted a dramatic 116% increase in Waqf land since 2013, attributing the rise to misuse of the “waqf by user” provision, which recognizes long-term religious use of land without formal ownership records. The Ministry of Minority Affairs contended that such provisions have enabled false claims over private and government lands, urging the court to uphold the law and prevent “unauthorized endowments” that undermine individual and public rights.

However, several Muslim bodies and political parties, including AIMIM and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, have strongly opposed the amended law. They criticized the Centre’s data and demanded action for allegedly misleading the court. The SC has limited the number of petitions it will hear to five, including one by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. The Act, now in force after presidential assent, empowers district collectors to determine the status of disputed properties, eliminating older practices such as oral waqf declarations. Critics argue this undermines traditional Islamic norms and threatens the future of community-owned assets.