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2025 Supreme(SC) 1686
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
B.R. GAVAI, C.J.I., AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J.
In Re: The Waqf Amendment Act, 2025 (1)
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 276 of 2025 With Writ Petition (Civil) No. 814 of 2013 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 269 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 284 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 314 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 331 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 344 OF 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 353 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 375 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 381 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 398 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 415 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 427 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 431 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 436 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 439 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 440 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 445 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 447 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 450 of 2025 Writ Petition (Civil) No. of 2025 Diary No. 19103 of 2025 Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 1316 of 2025
Decided on : 15-09-2025
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv. Mr. Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, AOR Mr. Ibad Mushtaq, Adv. Ms. Rupali Samuel, Adv. Ms. Sumedha, Adv. Ms. Akanksha Rai, Adv. Ms. Gurneet Kaur, Adv. Mr. Mujahid Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Shahid Nadeem, Adv. Mr. Mir Ferasat Ali Shuttari, Adv. Ms. Syeda Marwa Shuttari, Adv. Mr. Mustafa Khaddam Hussain, Adv. Mr. Hasan Raza Khan, Adv. Dr. Rajeev Dhavan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, AOR Mr. Burhan V. Bukhari, Adv. Mr. Zain Maqbool, Adv. Mr. Saif Zia, Adv. Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. M R Shamshad, Sr. Adv. Mr. Amit Bhandari, Adv. Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR Mr. M Shaz Khan, Adv. Mr. Arijit Sarkar, Adv. Mr. Faizan Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Rafid Akhter, Adv. Mr. Sudhanshu Tewari, Adv. Mr. Zulfikar Ali, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Singh, Adv. Mr. Mohammed Thayyib Hudavi, Adv. Ms. Sitwat Nabi, Adv. Mr. Yash Johri, Adv. Mr. Huzefa Ahmadi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ninad Laud, Adv. Mr. Abdulla Naseeh V.t., AOR Mr. Mashook Ali, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Singh, Adv. Mr. Ivo D’costa, Adv. Mr. Zubin Dash, Adv. Mr. Mohammad Ajmal Hussain, Adv. Mr. Rohan Sharma, Adv. Mr. Ashray Chopra, Adv. Ms. Abreeda Banu, Adv. Mr. Nizam Pasha, Adv. Mr. Lzafeer Ahmad B. F., AOR Ms. Awstika Das, Adv. Mr. Mushtaq Salim, Adv. Mr. Madhav Deepak, Adv. Mr. Sidharth Kaushik, Adv. Mr. Shubham Arun, Adv. Mr. Arif Ali, Adv. Singhvi Mr. Sachin Dubey, Adv. Mr. Narendra Mishra,Adv. Mr. Usman Khan,Adv. Ms. K. R. Chitra, AOR Mr. Subhash Chandra Jain, AOR Mr. Gaurav, AOR Mr. Vishnu Shankar Jain, Adv. Mr. Shaurya Krishna, Adv. Mr. Parth Yadav, AOR Ms. Marbiang Khongwir, Adv. Ms. Khushboo Tomar, Adv. Mr. Md. Hadiur Rahaman, Adv. Mr. Arindam Ghosh, AO Singhvi R Ms. Nilofar Khan, AOR Mr. Khushi Mohammad, Adv. Ms. Afrin Khan, Adv. Mr. Mohit Gaurav, Adv. Mr. Anjum Parvez, Adv. Mrs. Saumya Dubey, Adv. Mr. Nameer Alvi, Adv. Mr. M. Yogesh Kanna, Adv. Mr. S. Prabu Ramasubramanian, Adv. Mr. Manoj Kumar A., Adv. Mr. Vinayaga Vignesh I., Adv. Mr. Vasu Kalra, Adv. Mr. Vairawan A.S, AOR Mr. Anil Kumar, AOR Mr. Aslam Ahmed Jamal, AOR Mr. Rohit Jain, Adv. Mr. Mohd Ashaab, Adv. Mr. Mir Omer Khan, Adv. Mr. Tameem Moeez, Adv. Ms. Afsar Jahan, Adv. Ms. Shabiesta Nabi, Adv. Mr. Arun Kumar Arunachal, Adv. Mr. Raees Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Arun Kumar Maji, Adv. Mr. Shashank Tripathi, AOR Mr. Jeevan Kumar, Adv. Mr. Rajeev Singh, AOR Mr. Bhaskar Aditya , AOR Mr. A. Rasheed Qureshi, Adv. Mr. Pawan Kumar Sharma, Adv. Ms. Priya Rastogi, Adv. Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, AOR Mr. Syed Mehdi Imam, AOR Mr. Mohd Parvez Dabas, Adv. Mr. Uzmi Jamil Husain, Adv. Mr. Tashriq Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Tabrez Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Mohd Noorullah, Adv. Mr. Atif Suhrawardy, Adv. Mr. M A Mujeeb, Adv. Mr. Vishnu Sharma A.s., AOR Mr. Syed Ashhar Warsi, Adv. Mr. Vaibhav Choudhary, AOR Mr. Tushar Jain, Adv.
For the Respondent(s):Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. K.m.nataraj, A.S.G. Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee, A.S.G. Mr. S.d.sanjay, A.S.G. Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G. Mr. Raghavendra P.shankar, A.S.G. Mr. Sudarshan Lamba, AOR Singhvi Mr. Anil Kaushik, Adv. Mr. P.v.yogeswaran, Adv. Mr. Karan Lahiri, Adv. Ms. Astha Singh, Adv. Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv. Ms. Sansriti Pathak, Adv. Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Mr. K. Parmeshwaran, Adv. Mr. Arvind Dattar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Adv. Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, AOR Mr. Bharat Bagla, Adv. Mr. Sourav Singh, Adv. Mr. Aditya Krishna, Adv. Mr. Adarsh Dubey, Adv. Mr. Shridhar Pottraju, Sr. Adv. Ms. Pratima Nain Lakra, AOR Ms. Mahima Pandey, Adv. Mr. Vikas Lakra, Adv. Mr. Aditya Sharma, Adv. Mr. Shreeyas U Lalit, Adv. Mr. Aakash Dixit, Adv. Mr. Pallav Mongia, Adv. Mr. Devesh Mohan, Adv. Mr. Abdul Qadir Abbasi, AOR Ms. Srishti Mishra, AOR Mr. Md. Shahid Anwar, AOR Mr. Shadan Farasat, Sr. Adv. Mr. Hareesh Ahmad Minhaj, Adv. Dr. Nikish Kumari, Adv. Mr. Ajay Amritraj, Adv. Singhvi Mr. Aryan P Nanda, Adv. Singhvi Mr. Mansoor Ali, AOR Mr. Bilal Mansoor, Adv. Singhvi Mr. Niaz Ahmad Farooqi, Adv. Mr. Z.k.faizan, Adv. Mr. S.islam, Adv. Ms. Rubina Jawed, Adv. Mr. Imtiyaz Ali, Adv. Mr. Gaurav Bhatia, Sr. A.A.G. Ms. Vanshaja Shukla, AOR Singhvi Mr. Ajay Bahuguna, Adv. Mr. Siddhant Yadav, Adv. Mr. Vikas Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Nihal Ahmad, AOR Mr. S. Guru Krishna Kumar, Sr. Adv. Ms. C. Ankeeta Appanna, AOR Ms. Madhura Chitnis, Adv. Mr. Ashwin K, Adv. Mr. Syed Shahid Hussain Rizvi, AOR Mr. Nasir Aziz, Adv. Mr. Zeeshan Rizvi, Adv. Ms. Manju Jetley, AOR Mr. Ali Chaudhary,, Adv. Mr. Rachit Gupta,, Adv. Singh Singhvi vi Mr. Abuzar Ali, Adv. Singhvi Mr. Loknath Paul, Adv. Mr. Kaleeswaram Raj, Adv. Mr. Mohammed Sadique T.a., AOR Mrs. Thulasi K Raj, Adv. Mr. Alim Anvar, Adv. Ms. Aparna Menon, Adv. Ms. Chinnu Maria Antony, Adv. Mr. Arman Roop Sharma, Adv. Ms. Shimpy Sharma, Adv. Mr. Mohd. Aman Khan Afghani, Adv. Mr. Mohd. Arham, Adv. Ms. Era Khatana, Adv. Mr. Amit Kumar Pandey, Adv. Dr. Vinod Kumar Tewari, AOR Dr. Abhishek Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Avishkar Singhvi, Adv. Mr. Pranjal Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Dixita Gohil, Adv. Mr. T Mahendhran, Adv. Mr. Yash S. Vijay, AOR Mr. Shikhar Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. K. Parmeshwar,Sr.Adv. Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Khan, AOR Mr. M Dhandapani, Adv. Mr. Mohd Israr Khan, Adv. Mr. Syed Saifullah, Adv. Mr. Ranjit Kumar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Subodh Pathak, Adv. Mr. Amit Mishra, Adv. Mr. Gautam Singh, Adv. Mr. Mitakshara Goyal, Adv. Mr. Sudipto Sircar, Adv. Mr. Shriya Gilhotra, Adv. Mr. Amit sharma, Adv. Mr. Yashraj Bundela, Adv. Mr. Rahul G Tanwani, Adv. Mr. Venkata Raghuvamsy D., AOR Mr. Sadashiv, AOR Mr. Sachin Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Pranav Kumar Srivastva, Adv. Mr. Devendra Kumar Gupta, Adv. Mr. Ashish Singh, Adv. Mr. Ashish Pandey, Adv. Mr. B Gamaprasad Yadav, Adv. Ms. Vandana, Adv. Ms. Pooja Garg, Adv. Mr. Prasant Andrew Leo, Adv. Mr. Nishant Sanjay Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Vaibhav Trivedi, Adv. Mr. Abhijit Sengupta, AOR Mr. Tadimalla Gowtham,Adv. Mr. Subodh Patil,Adv. Mr. Alabhya Dhamija,Adv. Mr. Gautam Singh,Adv. Mr. Shreeyash U. Lalit,Adv. Mr. Rahul G. Tanwani,Adv. Mr. Shubhendu Anand,Adv. Ms. Manima Pandey,Adv. Mr. Rishikesh Haridas,Adv. Mr. Aditya Kashyap,Adv. Mr. Ramesh Thakur,Adv. Ms. Shriya Gilhotra, AOR Mr. Sunil Kumar, Adv. Mr. Prateek Tanwar, Adv. Mr. Poonam Seth, Adv. M/S. Brajesh Pandey & Associates, AOR Mr. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, Sr. Adv. Mr. Rauf Rahim, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ali Asghar Rahim, Adv. Mr. Firdous Samim, Adv. Ms. Gopa Biswas, Adv. Mr. Hasan Baqri, Adv. Mr. Azam Khan, Adv. Mr. Mizanur Rahaman, Adv. Mr. Wasim Akram, Adv. Mr. Aravind C., Adv. Mr. Shekhar Kumar, AOR Ms. Tania Tamanna, Adv. Dr. Rajeev Dhavan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sanjay R Hegde, Sr. Adv. Mr. Anas Tanwir, AOR Mr. Ebad Ur Rahman, Adv. Mr. Qamar Ahmad Siddiqui, Adv. Ms. Masoom Raj Singh, Adv. Ms. Zainab Shaikh, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar, Adv. Mr. Fakhre Alam, Adv. Mrs. Farah Hashmi, Adv. Mr. Abdul Qadir, Adv. Ms. Nazish Fatima, Adv. Mr. Zarif Hossain, Adv. Mr. Kashif Jamal, Adv. Ms. Farhat Jahan Rehmani, AOR Mr. Barkat Ali Khan, Adv. Mr. Imran Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Monis Faridi, Adv. Mr. Firoz Iqbal Khan, Adv. Mr. Faizan Khan, Adv. Mr. Shaan Mohd, Adv. Mr. Ranjit Kumar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Lokesh Sinhal, Sr. A.A.G. Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, AOR Ms. Drishti Rawal, Adv. Ms. Pragya Upadhyay, Adv. Ms. Drishti Saraf, Adv. Ms. Aakanksha, Adv. Mr. Nikunj Gupta, Adv. Ms. Ishika Gupta, Adv. Mr. Sarthak Arya, Adv. Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Sr. Adv. Ms. Divya Jyoti Singh, AOR Mr. Tushar Shrivastava, Adv. Ms. Shreya Nair, Adv. Mr. Shourya Dasgupta, Adv. Mr. Vinay Garg, Sr. Adv. Mr. P.n.ravindran, Sr. Adv. Ms. Kiran Bhardwaj, AOR Mr. Abhishek Atrey, Adv. Ms. Ambika Atrey, Adv. Mr. Awanish Sinha, Adv. Mr. Ajay Singh, Adv. Mr. Ajay Jain, Adv. Ms. Anuradha Rustagi, Adv. Ms. Anu Mohla, Adv. Ms. Sangita Malhotra, Adv. Mr. Anilendra Pandey, AOR Mr. Anilendra Pandey, Adv. Mr. Nadeem Hussain, Adv. Mr. Shahid Ali, Adv. Mr. Raj Ranjay Singh, Adv. Mr. Pitambar Acharya, Advocate General Mr. Maninder Singh, Sr. Adv. Ms. Samapika Biswal, AOR Mr. Prabhas Bajaj, Adv. Mr. Kartikeya Asthana, Adv. Ms. Soumya Sannidhanam, Adv. Mr. Amarpal Singh Dua, Adv. Mr. Milind Rai, Adv. Mr. Rangasaran Mohan Usman, Adv. Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv. Mr. Salman Khurshid, Sr. Adv. Mr. Haris Beeran, Adv. Mr. Sulaiman Mohd Khan, Adv. Ms. Taiba Khan, Adv. Mr. Bhanu Malhotra, Adv. Mr. Abdul Bari Khan, Adv. Mr. Chandra Bose, Adv. Dr. Hilaluddin, Adv. Ms. Sidra Khan, Adv. Ms. Tehsheena Z. Hussain, Adv. Ms. Amna Darakhshan, Adv. Ms. Mariya Mansurai, Adv. Mr. Aftab Alam, Adv. Mr. Taufeeq Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Mohd Jamal, Adv. Mr. Azhar Assees, Adv. Mr. Usman Ghani Khan, AOR Mr. Udai Singh, Adv. Mr. Barun Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mrs. Pratibha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Abhishek, AOR Mr. Sneh Vardhan, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Mudgal, Adv. Mr. Chhail Bihari Singh, Adv. Mr. Sidhant Thakur, Adv. Mr. Neeraj, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Kumar Shukla, Adv. Mr. Ritu Raj, Adv. Mrs. Kanika, Adv. Mr. S Niranjan Reddy, Sr. Adv. Mr. Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, AOR Ms. Akhila Palem Rami Reddy, Adv. Ms. Palak Arora, Adv. Mr. Sahil Raveen, Adv. Mr. Meeran Maqbool, Adv. Mr. Vivek Rajan D.b., Adv. Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Sr. Adv. Ms. Divya Jyoti Singh, AOR Mr. Tushar Shrivastava, Adv. Ms. Shreya Nair, Adv. Mr. Shourya Dasgupta, Adv. Mr. Ranjit Kumar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Lokesh Sinhal, Sr. A.A.G. Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, AOR Ms. Drishti Rawal, Adv. Ms. Pragya Upadhyay, Adv. Ms. Drishti Saraf, Adv. Ms. Aakanksha, Adv. Mr. Nikunj Gupta, Adv. Ms. Ishika Gupta, Adv. Mr. Sarthak Arya, Adv. Mr. Md. Sadath Hussain, AOR Mr. Zeeshan Rizvi, Adv. Mr. Abdul Muqeeth Qureshi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Yusuf Khan, Adv. Mr. Minhajuddin M.shaik, Adv. Mr. Ch Rastrapal, Adv. Mr. Rajiv Kumar Sinha, Adv. Miss Kanika Singhal, AOR Mr. Manoj K. Mishra, AOR Mr. Umesh Dubey, Adv. Mr. Raj Kumar Mishra, Adv. Ms. Pushpa Mishra, Adv. Ms. Madhulika, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar Mishra, Adv. Ms. Vuzmal Nehru, Adv. Mr. Anand Kumar Rai, Adv. Ms. Nitya Ramakrishnan,, Sr. Adv. Mr. Prasanna S., AOR Ms. Rupali Samuel, Adv. Ms. Stuti Rai, Adv. Mr. Chander Uday Singh, Sr. Adv. Ms. Vrinda Bhandari, AOR Mr. Gautam Bhatia, Adv. Ms. Anandita Rana, Adv. Ms. Vanshita Gupta, Adv. Ms. Katyayani Suhrud, Adv. Ms. Bidya Mohanty, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Singh, AOR Mr. Chand Qureshi, AOR Mr. Aarif Ali, Adv. Mr. Mujahid Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Shahzad Naqvi, Adv. Mr. S.s.kazi, Adv. Mr. Mohammad Ateeque, Adv. Mr. Bahar U Barqi, Adv. Mr. Robiul Islam, Adv. Mr. Gowhar Wani, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar, Adv. Mr. Sushil Sonkar, Adv. Mr. Mohit Yadav, Adv. Mr. Mohd Asjad, Adv. Mr. Mohd Tauheed, Adv. Mr. Aurangzeb Khan, Adv. Ms. Saima Anjum, Adv. Mr. Raj Kumar Yadav, Adv. Mr. Dhirendra Kumar Verma, Adv. Mr. Sadashiv, AOR Mr. Sachin Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Pranav Kumar Srivastva, Adv. Mr. Devendra Kumar Gupta, Adv. Mr. Ashish Singh, Adv. Mr. Ashish Pandey, Adv. Mr. B Gamaprasad Yadav, Adv. Ms. Vandana, Adv. Ms. Pooja Garg, Adv. Mr. Prasant Andrew Leo, Adv. Mr. Nishant Sanjay Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Vaibhav Trivedi, Adv. Mr. Ranjit Kumar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Subodh Pathak, Adv. Mr. Amit Mishra, Adv. Mr. Gautam Singh, Adv. Mr. Mitakshara Goyal, Adv. Mr. Sudipto Sircar, Adv. Mr. Shriya Gilhotra, Adv. Mr. Amit sharma, Adv. Mr. Yashraj Bundela, Adv. Mr. Rahul G Tanwani, Adv. Mr. Venkata Raghuvamsy D., AOR Mr. Ansar Ahmad Chaudhary, AOR Mr. Shivam Jasra, AOR Mr. Kartik Jasra, Adv. Ms. Vidhi Sharma, Adv. Ms. G Priyadharshni, Adv. Mr. Rahul Shyam Bhandari, AOR Mr. Satyam Pathak, Adv. Mr. Prabhakar Pahepuri, Adv. Dr. Ratneshwar Chakma, Adv. Mr. M.R. Shamshad, Sr. Adv. Mr. Wajeeh Shafiq, AOR Mr. Vishwajeet Kumar, Adv. Mr. Sarwar Raza, Adv. Ms. Zeb Hasan, Adv. Mr. Nabil Raza, Adv. Mrs. Shaista Siddiqui, Adv. Mr. Tariq Adeeb, Adv. Mr. Rukhsar Ahmad, Adv. Mr. P. Wilson, Sr. Adv. Mr. A. Mariarputham, Sr. Adv. Mr. Richardson Wilson, Adv. Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv. Mr. Apoorv Malhotra, Adv. Mr. Lokesh Krishna, Adv. Mr. Ankit Sharma, Adv. Ms. Anuradha Arputham, AOR M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR Mr. Huzefa Ahmadi,Sr.Adv. Mr. Ujjwal Singh , AOR Mr. Iftekar Munshi,Adv. Ms. Manisha Gupta,Adv. Mr. Rachit Bigghe,Adv. Mr. Rahul Tomar,Adv. Mr. Syed Shahid Hussain Rizvi, AOR Mr. Nasir Aziz, Adv. Mr. Zeeshan Rizvi, Adv. Mr. S. Guru Krishna Kumar, Sr. Adv. Ms. C. Ankeeta Appanna, AOR Ms. Madhura Chitnis, Adv. Mr. Ashwin K, Adv. Mr. Kailash Prashad Pandey, AOR Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Amit Kumar Chawla, Adv. Mr. S.k Rajora, Adv. Mr. Shiva Nand Sharma, Adv. Mr. Varun Varma, Adv. Mr. Akhileshwar Jha, Adv. Mr. Mahi Pal Singh, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Vishan, Adv. Ms. Swati Vishan, Adv. Ms. Manisha Chawla, Adv. Ms. Charanjeet Sidhu, Adv. Ms. Niharika Dwivedi, Adv. Ms. Yamini Sharma, Adv. Mr. Chaman Sharma, Adv. Mr. Shubham Rajhans, Adv. Mr. Ishank Ranjan, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Sharma, Adv. Mr. Avnish Sharma, Adv. Mr. Anil Rana, Adv. Ms. Divya Mishra, Adv. Ms. Suresh Kumari, Adv. Mr. Devendra Kumar Mishra, Adv. Mr. Prakher Shulka, Adv. Mr. Prateek Srivastava, Adv. Ms. Priyanka Prakash, AOR Mr. K Sai Krishna Mohan Rao, Adv. Mrs. Beena Prakash, Adv. Mr. Anoop R, Adv. Mr. Chand Qureshi, AOR Mr. Aarif Ali, Adv. Mr. Mujahid Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Shahzad Naqvi, Adv. Mr. S.s.kazi, Adv. Mr. Mohammad Ateeque, Adv. Mr. Bahar U Barqi, Adv. Mr. Robiul Islam, Adv. Mr. Gowhar Wani, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar, Adv. Mr. Sushil Sonkar, Adv. Mr. Mohit Yadav, Adv. Mr. Mohd Asjad, Adv. Mr. Mohd Tauheed, Adv. Mr. Aurangzeb Khan, Adv. Ms. Saima Anjum, Adv. Mr. Raj Kumar Yadav, Adv. Mr. Dhirendra Kumar Verma, Adv. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Yadav, Adv. Ms. Anjale Kumari, Adv. Mr. Deepak Yadav, Adv. Mr. Manish Nagpal, Adv. Mr. Deepak Mishra, Adv. Mr. Sadam Satya Narayana Raja Yadav, Adv. Mr. Sunil Kumar Srivastava, Adv. Mr. Ashwini Garg, Adv. Mr. Sanjeev Malhotra, AOR Mr. R. H. A. Sikander, AOR Dr. Abhishek Manu Sighvi,Sr.Adv. Ms. Fauzia Shakil, AOR Mr. Amit Bhandari,Adv. Ms. Priyansha Sharma,Adv. Mr. Sivagnanam Karthikeyan,Adv. Ms. Tasmiya Taleha,Adv. Mr. Ujjwal Singh , AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR Mr. Manoj K. Mishra, AOR Mr. Umesh Dubey, Adv. Mr. Raj Kumar Mishra, Adv. Ms. Pushpa Mishra, Adv. Ms. Madhulika, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar Mishra, Adv. Ms. Vuzmal Nehru, Adv. Mr. Anand Kumar Rai, Adv. Miss Sneha Sanjay Botwe , AOR Applicant-in-person Mr. Abdul Azeem Kalebudde, AOR Mr. Vipin Kumar, AOR M/S. Equity Lex Associates, AOR Ms. Naghma Imtiaz, Adv. Mr. Zargham Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Saif Naseem, Adv. Ms. Seema Khan, Adv. Mr. Tanveer Khan, Adv. Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, Sr. Adv. Ms. Mrinal Gopal Elker, AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. Praphulla Kumar Bharat, Advocate General Ms. Ankita Sharma, AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. Praphulla Kumar Bharat, Advocate General Ms. Ankita Sharma, AOR Mr. Chandan Kumar, Adv. Mr. Ravi Raj, Adv. Mr. Rajnish Kumar Jha, AOR Mr. Alok Kumar Dwivedi, Adv. Mr. Sakal Dev Sharma, Adv. Mr. Mahendra Kumar, Adv. Mr. Aniket Vijay Seth, AOR Petitioner-in-person Mr. P.V. Dinesh, Sr. Adv. Mr. Subhash Chandran K.r, AOR Ms. Krishna Lr, Adv. Ms. Anna Oommen, Adv. Mr. Rajesh Gulab Inamdar, AOR Mr. Md. Sadath Hussain, AOR Mr. Zeeshan Rizvi, Adv. Mr. Abdul Muqeeth Qureshi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Yusuf Khan, Adv. Mr. Minhajuddin M.shaik, Adv. Mr. Ch Rastrapal, Adv. Mr. Rajiv Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mr. Muhammad Ali Khan, A.A.G. Mr. D. L. Chidananda, AOR Ms. Eesha Bhakshi, Adv. Mr. Shridhar Pottraju, Sr. Adv. Ms. Pratima Nain Lakra, AOR Ms. Mahima Pandey, Adv. Mr. Vikas Lakra, Adv. Mr. Aditya Sharma, Adv. Mr. Shreeyas U Lalit, Adv. Mr. Aakash Dixit, Adv. Mr. Pallav Mongia, Adv. Mr. Devesh Mohan, Adv. Mr. Barun Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mrs. Pratibha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Sneh Vardan, Adv. Mr. Siddant Thakur, Adv. Mr. Himanshu Sood, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Kumar Shukla, Adv. Mr. Bhuwan Raj, AOR Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Sr. Adv. Ms. Neha Rathi, AOR Ms. Kajal Giri, Adv. Ms. Arunima Das, Adv. Ms. Mohini Kumari, Adv. Dr. Sunil Kumar, Adv. Mr. Rajiv Mangla, AOR Mr. Prince, Adv. Ms. Monika, Adv. Mr. Hrithik Jarodia, Adv. Mr. Pravartak Suhas Pathak, AOR Mr. Mukul Singh, Adv. Ms. Aditi Tripathi, Adv. Ms. Himadri Haksar, Adv. Mr. Shubhendu Anand, Adv. Mr. Ritu Raj, Adv. Ms. Shambhavi Kanade, Adv. Mr. Kalyan Bandopadhyay,Sr.Adv. Mr. Avishkar Singhvi,Sr.Adv. Mr. Kunal Mimani, AOR Mr. Prashant Alvi,Adv. Mr. Kausar Raza Faridi, AOR Mr. Abdulla Naseeh V.t., AOR Ms. Abreeda Banu, Adv. Ms. Rachel Sara James, Adv. Mr. A M Dar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Danish Majid, Adv. Ms. Syed Ahra, Adv. Mr. Atiqur Rehman, Adv. Mr. Towseef Ahmad Dar, AOR Mr. Barun Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mrs. Pratibha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Sneh Vardan, Adv. Mr. Siddant Thakur, Adv. Mr. Himanshu Sood, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Kumar Shukla, Adv. Mr. Bhuwan Raj, AOR Mr. Shubail Farook, Adv. Mr. Rizwan Merchant, Adv. Mr. Mohammed Taha Khan, Adv. Mr. Ranjay Kumar Dubey, AOR Mr. Manas P Hameed, Adv. Ms. Mariyamma A. K., AOR Mr. Anil Kumar K P, Adv. Ms. Ipsita Ojal, Adv. Ms. Akansha, AOR Mr. Naman Raj Singh, Adv. Mr. Karan Dang, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Ranjan, Adv. Mr. Hritik Tyagi, Adv. Ms. Bhavika Agrawal, Adv. Ms. Shreya Chopra, Adv. Mr. Prabhat Kumar, AOR Mr. Chander Uday Singh, Sr. Adv. Mr. Rajiv Shakdher, Sr. Adv. Mr. Rauf Rahim, Sr. Adv. Mr. Adeel Ahmed, AOR Mr. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Adv. Mr. Rahamathulla Kothwal, Adv. Mr. Abdur Razzaque Bhuyan, Adv. Mr. Elias Ahmed, Adv. Ms. Siddika Aisha, Adv. Mr. M Huzaifa, Adv. Mr. Mohammad Mobashshir Aneeq, Adv. Ms. Taqdees Fatima, Adv. Ms. Bidya, Adv. Mr. Karan Khetan, Adv. Mr. Jonathan Ivan Rajan, Adv. Ms. Maithili Moonda, Adv. Mr. Ali Rahim, Adv. Mr. Mohd Ghouse Muddin Khan, Adv. Mr. Jahangir Iqbal, Adv. Ms. Katyayani Suhurd, Adv. Mr. Aamir Hussain, Adv. Mr. Syed Mehdi Imam, AOR Mr. Mohd Parvez Dabas, Adv. Mr. Uzmi Jamil Husain, Adv. Mr. Mohd Noorullah, Adv. Mr. Tabrez Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Atif Suhrawardy, Adv. Mr. Amir Dabas, Adv. Mr. Abid Ali Beeran P, AOR Mr. Sarath S Janardanan, Adv. Mr. Saswat Adhyapak, Adv. Ms. Namita Kumari, Adv. Dr. G Mohan Gopal, Adv. Mr. Vaibhav Choudhary, AOR Mr. Shubail Farook, Adv. Mr. Rizwan Merchant, Adv. Mr. Mohammed Taha Khan, Adv. Mr. Ranjay Kumar Dubey, AOR Mr. Chandrashekhar Singh, Adv. Mr. Shashank Shekhar Singh, Adv. Mr. Arjun D. Singh, Adv. Mr. Gaichangpou Gangmei, Adv. Mr. Yimyanger Longkumer, Adv. Mr. Maitreya Mahaley, Adv. Mr. Abhinav Singh, Adv. M/s Ag Veritas Law, AOR Mr. Sandeep Singh, AOR Mr. Ravi Shankar Jandhyala, Sr. Adv. Ms. Aarati Sah, Adv. Mr. Animesh Shukla, Adv. Mr. Ravi Kumar, Adv. Mr. Kumar Abhishek, Adv. Ms. Neha Rai, AOR Dr. Sunil Kumar Agarwal, AOR Mr. P.v. Raghunandan Kooperia, Adv. Mr. Kesavulu Jayakaran, Adv. Mr. Madan Lal Daga, Adv. Mr. Amarjeet Sahani, Adv. Ms. Shweta Bhardwaj, Adv. Ms. Shreya Saurabh, Adv. Mrs. Amita Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Sachin Kumar Srivastava, Adv. Mr. Anuj Kumar Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Vipin Kumar Mishra, Adv. Miss Jaswanthi. A, AOR Ms. Shahrukh Alam, Adv. Mr. Prannv Dhawan, Adv. Mr. Saaket Jain, Adv. Mr. Alok Kumar Dwivedi, Adv. Mr. Ganesh A Khemka, Adv. Mr. Nishant Kumar, Adv. Mr. Shantanu Singh, Adv. Ms. Shivangi Anand, AOR Mr. S. G. Hasnain, Sr. Adv. Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, AOR Mr. M. Z. Chaudhary, Adv. Mr. Ali Safeer Farooqi, Adv. Mr. Brahmjeet Singh, Adv. Mr. Syed Mohd. Fazal, Adv. Mr. Sriram P., AOR Mr. Gaurav Bhatia, Sr. A.A.G. Ms. Vanshaja Shukla, AOR Mr. Ajay Bahuguna, Adv. Mr. Siddhant Yadav, Adv. Mr. Vikas Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ayush Anand, AOR Mr. V C Shukla, Adv. Ms. Sindhoora Vnl, Adv. Mr. Aishvarya Vikram, Adv. Ms. Shreya Sinha, Adv. Mr. Sai Shashank V, Adv. Mr. Alabhya Dhamija, Adv. Mr. Pravartak Pathak, Adv. Mr. Praneet Pranav, Adv. Mr. Santosh Kumar, Adv. Mr. Bhaskar Gowtham, Adv. Mr. Vishal Kumar, Adv. Mr. Monu Kumar, Adv. Mr. Shiraz Quraishi, Adv. Mr. Saif Quraishi, Adv. Mr. Kabir Quraishi, Adv. Mr. Javed Khan Saifi, Adv. Mr. Diwan Saifullah, Adv. Mr. Kabir Singh, Adv. Mr. Prashant Rawat, AOR Mr. Nem Pal Singh, AOR Mr. Mahendra Kumar, Adv. Mr. Rohit Kumar, Adv. Mr. Divya Bhardwaj, Adv. Mr. Praveen Agrawal, AOR Mr. Sameer Shrivastava, AOR Ms. Yashika Varshney, Adv. Ms. Palak Mathur, Adv. Mrs. Priyanka Shrivastava, Adv. Mr. Rajeev Dhavan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sanjay Hegde, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shwetank Sailakwal, AOR Mr. Mayank Suryan, Adv. Mr. Zaid Raza, Adv. Ms. Shreya, Adv. Mr. Waseem Akhtar Khan, AOR Mr. Pitambar Acharya, Advocate General Mr. Maninder Singh, Sr. Adv. Ms. Samapika Biswal, AOR Mr. Prabhas Bajaj, Adv. Mr. Kartikeya Asthana, Adv. Ms. Soumya Sannidhanam, Adv. Mr. Amarpal Singh Dua, Adv. Mr. Milind Rai, Adv. Mr. Rangasaran Mohan, Adv. Ms. Sneha Kalita, AOR Mr. Vijay Hansaria, Sr. Adv. Ms. Kavya Jhawar, Adv. Ms. Nandini Rai, Adv. Mr. Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, Sr Adv. Ms. Preetika Dwivedi, AOR Ms. Pramiti Bandyopadhyay, Adv, Adv. Mr. Abhisek Mohanty, Adv., Adv. Mr. Kisalaya Shukla, AOR Mr. Aslam Ahmed Jamal, AOR Ms. Shabiesta Nabi, Adv. Mr. Raees Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Rohit Jain, Adv. Mr. Saleem Malik, Adv. Ms. Shavana, Adv. Mr. Mohd Ashaab, Adv. Ms. Afsar Jahan, Adv. Ms. Farha Naaz, Adv. Mr. Md. Hassamul Haque, Adv. Mr. Satyapal Singh, Adv. Mr. Tasleem Arif, Adv. Mr. Kamal Akhtar, Adv. Mr. Satya Prakash Gautam, Adv. Mrs. Latika Rungta Bajaj, Adv. Ms. Diya Nagraj, Adv. Mr. Kafeel Ahmad, Adv. Ms. Latika Rungta Bajaj, Adv. Mr. Riaz, Adv. Mr. Sumeet Pushkarna, Sr. Adv. Mr. Jitendra Kumar, AOR Mr. Rajesh Singh, Adv. Mr. Ankur Mehta, Adv. Mr. Rr Maurya, Adv. Mr. Varun Dev Mishra , AOR Mr. Mrinal Harsh Vardhan, Adv. Mr. Ali Bin Saif, Adv. Mr. Dawneesh Shaktivats, AOR Mr. Kaif Hasan, Adv. Mr. Zeeshan Khan, Adv. Mr. Aditya Bhushan Singhal, Adv. Mr. Asim Abbas, Adv. Mr. Mohd Yasin, Adv. Mr. Advait Ghosh, Adv. Mr. Shoaib Khan, Adv. Ms. Himanshi Mehta, Adv. Mr. Ansh Arora, Adv. Mr. Abhinav Goyal, Adv. Mr. Mohd Suhail Siddiqui, Adv. Ms. Akankrita Sinha, Adv. Ms. Rituparna, Adv. Mr. Jyotendra Sajan, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Dwivedi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G. Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, AOR Mr. S. Sriram, Sr. Adv. Mr. Gopal Jha, AOR Mr. Gautham Bhaskar, Adv. Mr. Praneet Pranav, Adv. Mr. Alabhya Dhamija, Adv. Mr. Gobind Kumar, Adv. Mr. Navneet Kumar, Adv. Mr. Nimish Arjaria, Adv. Mr. Paras Bajpai, Adv. Mr. Umesh Kumar Yadav, Adv. Ms. Priyanshi Goel, Adv. Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv. Mr. Yashwant Singh, AOR Mr. Shamim Ahammed, Adv. Mr. Supratik Sarkar, Adv. Mr. Arnab Sinha, Adv. Mr. Imteaz Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Shreyank Tiwari, Adv. Ms. Ritu Reniwal, AOR Mr. Mahendra Kumawat, Adv. Mr. Mohammad Aslam, AOR Mr. Amitesh Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Ali Zia Kabir, Adv. Mr. Mohd Hanzala Kabir, Adv. Mr. Ashraf Yusuf Khan, Adv. Mr. Gufran Ali, Adv. Ms. Nazish Fatima, Adv. Mr. Sadique, Adv. Mr. Mohammed Ajmal Hussain, Adv. Mr. Davies, Adv. Mr. Kaiybei Angami, Adv. Ms. Pinky Behera, AOR Mr. Salman Khurshid, Sr. Adv. Dr. Aditya Sondhi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shariq Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Tariq Ahmed, Adv. Ms. Lubna Naaz, Adv. Mr. Mohammad Wasim, Adv. For M/s. Ahmadi Law Offices Mr. Radha Shyam Jena, AOR Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR Mr. Shakti Kanta Pattanaik, AOR Mr. Raavi Yogesh Venkata, AOR Mr. Kotte Venkata Pawan Kumar, Adv. Ms. Farhat Jahan Rehmani, AOR Mr. Barkat Ali Khan, Adv. Mr. Imran Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Monis Faridi, Adv. Mr. Firoz Iqbal Khan, Adv. Mr. Faizan Khan, Adv. Mr. Shaan Mohd, Adv. Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv. Mr. Manik Gupta, Adv. Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Zulfiker Ali P. S, AOR Ms. Rashmi Singh, Adv. Ms. Priyansha Sharma, Adv. Mr. Mohammed Thoyyib Hudawi, Adv. Mr. Faisal M. Aboobacker, Adv. Ms. Lakshmi Sree P., Adv. Ms. Lebina Baby, Adv. Mr. Sahid Uddin Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Rashid N. Azam , AOR Mr. Anurag Ojha , AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. K.m.nataraj, A.S.G. Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee, A.S.G. Mr. S.d.sanjay, A.S.G. Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G. Mr. Raghavendra P.shankar, A.S.G. Mr. Sudarshan Lamba, AOR Mr. K.parmeshwaran, Adv. Mr. Anil Kaushik, Adv. Mr. P.v.yogeswaran, Adv. Mr. Karan Lahiri, Adv. Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Astha Singh, Adv. Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv. Ms. Sansriti Pathak, Adv. Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. K.m.nataraj, A.S.G. Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G. Mr. S.d.sanjay, A.S.G. Mr. Sudarshan Lamba, AOR Mr. Bhuvan Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Kanu Agrawal, Adv. Ms. Astha Singh, Adv. Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv. Mr. Ranjan Mozumdar, Adv. M/S. Corporate Law Group, AOR Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR Ms. Naghma Imtiaz, Adv. Mr. Zargham Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Saif Naseem, Adv. M/S. Equity Lex Associates, AOR Mr. Vikash Singh, AOR Ms. Farhat Jahan Rehmani, AOR Mr. Monis Faridi, Adv. Ms. Bahiste Jahan, Adv. Mr. Irshad Ahmad, AOR Mr. Aravindh S., AOR Ms. Jyoti P, Adv. Mr. Lakshmi Raman Singh, AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. K.M. Nataraj, A.S.G. Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee, A.S.G. Mr. S.D. Sanjay, A.S.G. Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G. Mr. Raghavendra P.shankar, A.S.G. Mr. Sudarshan Lamba, AOR Mr. Anil Kaushik, Adv. Mr. P.v.yogeswaran, Adv. Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Karan Lahiri, Adv. Ms. Astha Singh, Adv. Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv. Ms. Sansriti Pathak, Adv. Mr. K.parmeshwaran, Adv. Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR Mr. Salman Khurshid, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shariq Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Tariq Ahmed, Adv. Mrs. Sheetal Soni, Adv. Mr. Mohammad Modassir Shams, Adv. M/S. Ahmadi Law Offices, AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. K.m.nataraj, A.S.G. Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee, A.S.G. Mr. S.d.sanjay, A.S.G. Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G. Mr. Raghavendra P.shankar, A.S.G. Mr. Sudarshan Lamba, AOR Mr. Anil Kaushik, Adv. Mr. P.V. Yogeswaran, Adv. Mr. Karan Lahiri, Adv. Ms. Astha Singh, Adv. Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv. Ms. Sansriti Pathak, Adv. Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Mr. K. Parmeshwaran, Adv.
IMPORTANT POINTS(1) Creation of Waqf – Unless rules are made by Central Government by exercising its rule-making power under Section 109 of Amended Waqf Act, provision of Section 3(r) of Amended Waqf Act requiring a person to show or demonstrate practice of Islam for at least 5 years in order to dedicate a movable or immovable property for the purpose of creating a waqf cannot be given effect to – However, no case is made out to stay provisions of entire statute.(2) Registration of every Waqf is necessary.(3) Courts should be very slow in granting interim relief by way of staying provisions of an enactment.(4) Central Waqf Council should not have non-Muslim members exceeding 4 in number and 3 non-Muslim members insofar as Board is concerned.(5) Title of Property – Issue with regard to determination of title of property, as a Government property or not, can be finally decided by Tribunal and any person aggrieved by order of Tribunal may file appeal to jurisdictional High Court.(6) Waqf by User – If legislature, in 2025, finds that on account of concept of “Waqf by User”, huge government properties have been encroached upon and to stop said menace, it takes steps for deletion of said provision, said amendment, prima facie, cannot be said to be arbitrary.(7) Protection of ancient monuments and properties belonging to Scheduled Tribes – Section 5 of Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 upheld.
Headnote:
(A) Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 – Section 3(r) – Creation of Waqf – Such a provision which requires a person practicing Islam for 5 years for creating a waqf cannot be said to be arbitrary – It cannot be said that it has no nexus with object sought to be achieved – However, since no mechanism or procedure has been provided as of now for ascertaining as to whether a person has been practising Islam for at least 5 years or not, such a provision cannot be given effect to immediately – Unless rules are made by Central Government by exercising its rule-making power under Section 109 of Amended Waqf Act, provision of Section 3(r) of Amended Waqf Act requiring a person to show or demonstrate practice of Islam for at least 5 years in order to dedicate a movable or immovable property for the purpose of creating a waqf cannot be given effect to – However, no case is made out to stay provisions of entire statute – Prayer for stay of impugned Act rejected. (Paras 140 and 209)
(B) Waqf Act, 1995 – Section 3(r)(i) – Waqf by User – If legislature, in 2025, finds that on account of concept of “Waqf by User”, huge government properties have been encroached upon and to stop said menace, it takes steps for deletion of said provision, said amendment, prima facie, cannot be said to be arbitrary – After noticing such instances of misuse, if legislature finds that concept of “Waqf by User” has to be abolished and that too prospectively, same cannot prima facie be said to be arbitrary – Deletion of clause (i) of Section 3(r) of Original Waqf Act would come into effect from the date on which impugned Act has come into effect. (Paras 150 and 152)
(C) Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 – Section 3C – Wrongful declaration of Waqf – Property of Government is a property of public i.e., citizens of India – Government holds property in trust for its citizens – Any person who has wrongful possession of such property cannot be permitted to claim the same as his own property – Provision to determine the question as to whether any property is a Government property or not by designating a Senior Officer above rank of Collector, who shall submit his report to State Government on the same, prima facie cannot be held to be arbitrary – However, proviso to sub-section (2) thereof, is, prima facie, not sustainable in law – If a property is already identified as a Waqf property or is declared as Waqf property, then without determination of question as to whether such a property is a Government property or not and treating said property not as a waqf property, is arbitrary – Question with regard to determination of title of a property being entrusted to a Revenue Officer would not be in tune with principle of separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution – Question of determination of title of a property will have to be resolved by a judicial or quasi-judicial authority – Provision which permits necessary corrections to be made in revenue records after conclusion of inquiry and provision enabling State Government to direct Board to make appropriate corrections in revenue records on receipt of report are prima facie arbitrary and liable to be stayed – However, to balance equities and to protect valuable Government properties, it is also imperative that pending such a determination by Tribunal, Mutawallis of such of Waqfs do not create any third-party rights in respect of such properties for which proceedings in accordance with Section 3C of Amended Waqf Act are initiated, until final adjudication by Tribunal is made. (Paras 155, 156, 157, 158 and 161, 165, 166 and 167)
(D) Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 – Section 83 – Title of Property – Issue with regard to determination of title of property, as a Government property or not, can be finally decided by Tribunal and any person aggrieved by order of Tribunal may file appeal to jurisdictional High Court. (Para 164)
(E) Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 – Sections 9, 14 and 23 – Establishment and constitution of Central Waqf Council – Central Waqf Council should not have non-Muslim members exceeding 4 in number and 3 non-Muslim members insofar as Board is concerned – As far as possible, an effort should be made to appoint the Chief Executive Officer of Board who is ex-officio Secretary from amongst Muslim community. (Paras 185, 189 and 209)
(F) Waqf Act, 1995 – Section 36 – Registration of every Waqf – Requirement of registration has not come for first time in 2025 – Right from 1923, said requirement has been consistently found in all enactments concerning Waqf properties – Ample amount of time has been given for Waqfs which are not registered to get themselves registered – Proviso to sub-section (10) of Section 36 of Amended Waqf Act provides that application may be entertained by court by way of such a suit etc., after period of 6 months specified under said sub-section if applicant specifies sufficient cause – Such a provision cannot be held to be arbitrary or discriminatory – As per Section 107 of Amended Waqf Act, on and from commencement of impugned Act, Limitation Act, 1963 shall apply to any proceedings in relation to any claim or interest pertaining to immovable property comprised in a Waqf. (Paras 191 and 192)
(G) Waqf Act, 1995 – Section 3D [Section 5 of Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025] – Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 – Sections 15 and 16 – Protection of ancient monuments – On account of notification(s) issued under Ancient Monuments Acts and notification(s) issued under various Waqf Acts, ASI was finding it difficult to carry out its function inasmuch as Mutawallis were parallelly running the affairs – Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 and Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 have been enacted for avowed purpose of protection of ancient monuments – Such monuments are a vital part of cultural heritage of our country and they need to be protected – Argument by petitioners that that on account of Section 3D of Amended Waqf Act, persons practicing Islamic religion would be deprived of performing their religious practices, does not hold water. (Paras 169, 170 and 171)
(H) Waqf Act, 1995 – Sections 3D and 3E [Section 5 of Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025] – Protection of properties belonging to Scheduled Tribes – Scheduled Tribes in general and, more particularly, those residing in north-eastern areas of country, to which Fifth and Sixth Schedules to Constitution are made applicable, are one of the most marginalized and vulnerable sections of society and they can be easily exploited – Declaration of a Waqf in these areas was creating a serious threat to existence of these cultural minorities, whose religious practices are distinct and who do not follow religious practices prescribed under Islamic religion – Provision such as Section 3D of Amended Waqf Act, which has been enacted with avowed object of safeguarding interest of one of most marginalized and vulnerable sections of our country, i.e., Scheduled Tribes cannot be said to have no nexus with object sought to be achieved – Such a provision cannot be said to be prima facie arbitrary so as to stay the same. (Paras 175, 177 and 178)
(I) Statute Law – Constitutionality of an Enactment – Scope of Grant of Interim Relief – Courts should be very slow in granting interim relief by way of staying provisions of an enactment – Interim relief of such a nature can be granted in rare and exceptional cases; where parties are in a position to point out that either Legislature which enacted law lacks legislative competence or provisions are ex-facie in violation of any of provisions in Part III of Constitution or constitutional principles or is manifestly arbitrary – Presumption is always in favour of constitutionality of an enactment and burden is upon him who attacks it to show that there has been a clear transgression of constitutional principles – It is an established position that it must be presumed that Legislature understands and correctly appreciates needs of its own people, that its laws are directed to problems made manifest by experience, and that its discriminations are based upon adequate grounds – Legislature understands and correctly appreciates need of its own people, that its laws are directed to problems made manifest by experience and that its discrimination is based on adequate grounds – Legislature is free to recognize degrees of harm and may confine its restrictions to those cases where need is deemed to be the clearest. (Paras 73, 74 and 117)
Facts of the case:
The first five writ petitions in this batch of matters being Writ Petition (Civil) Nos. 276, 314, 284, 331 and 269 of 2025 challenge the validity of several of the Sections of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on the ground of they being ultra vires Constitution of India being violative of Articles 14, 15, 19, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30 and 300A of the Constitution.
Findings of Court:
What has been observed by Court herein is upon our prima facie consideration for the purpose of examining as to whether an interim stay should be granted or not to the impugned Act or the provision(s) contained therein. The observations made hereinabove will not prevent the parties from making submissions with regard to the validity of the provisions contained in the Amended Waqf Act or any of the provision(s) therein.
Result : Writ Petitions partly allowed. [Impliedly]
The legal judgment revolves around the constitutional validity and legislative competence of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, and its various provisions. The court emphasizes that the presumption of constitutionality favors the legislation, and the burden of proof lies with those challenging it to demonstrate clear violations of constitutional principles or that the law is manifestly arbitrary (!) (!) .
The court highlights that the amendments are aimed at regulating the management and protection of Waqf properties, with specific provisions to prevent misuse, encroachment, and illegal transfer of properties. The history of Waqf legislation shows a consistent legislative intent to regulate, register, and oversee Waqf properties through mandatory registration, inquiry, and adjudication processes, which have evolved over time to address issues of mismanagement and misuse (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .
Key provisions challenged include the requirement for a person to demonstrate practicing Islam for at least five years to create a Waqf, which the court finds prima facie reasonable and connected to the legislative intent of ensuring genuine religious practice and preventing misuse. The court notes that such a condition, while not arbitrarily imposed, requires rules to be framed for its effective implementation (!) (!) .
The provisions related to the identification and declaration of Government properties as Waqf are scrutinized, with the court observing that the process involves inquiries by designated officers, but final determination of ownership and title must be made by judicial or quasi-judicial authorities to respect the separation of powers (!) (!) (!) .
The court also considers the restrictions imposed on declaring land belonging to Scheduled Tribes as Waqf, noting that these are aimed at protecting marginalized communities and their cultural and land rights, which are supported by constitutional provisions and statutes designed for their safeguard (!) (!) .
Regarding the composition of the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards, the court recognizes the inclusion of non-Muslim members as a measure to promote diversity and broad-based governance, provided that the number of such members does not exceed specified limits. The court emphasizes that these bodies primarily perform secular, advisory functions and do not interfere with religious practices directly (!) (!) .
The requirement for registration of Waqf properties and the procedures for inquiry and dispute resolution are deemed consistent with historical legislative trends and necessary to curb misuse and enhance transparency. The court observes that the law provides sufficient remedies, including tribunals and appellate mechanisms, to address disputes relating to Waqf properties (!) (!) (!) .
Finally, the court concludes that no substantial case has been made out to stay the entire statute. However, it issues interim directions to stay specific provisions, such as the requirement of demonstrating practicing Islam for five years and certain procedures related to the declaration of Government properties as Waqf, until rules are framed and final adjudication occurs. These measures aim to balance the interests of all parties and uphold constitutional principles during the pendency of the litigation (!) (!) .
Overall, the judgment underscores that the legislative amendments are within constitutional bounds, serve legitimate public interest objectives, and are not arbitrary, while also emphasizing the importance of judicial oversight in final property ownership and title determinations.
JUDGMENT :
B.R. GAVAI, CJI
INTRODUCTION |
SUBMISSIONS |
i. On behalf of the Petitioners |
ii. On behalf of the Respondents |
iii. Rejoinder |
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS |
i. Scope of Grant of Interim Relief |
ii. Legislative History of Waqf |
a. Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923 |
b. Bengal Wakf Act, 1934 |
c. Wakf Act, 1954 |
d. Wakf Enquiry Committee & Wakf (Amendment) Act, 1984 |
e. Waqf Act, 1995 |
iii. Consideration of the provisions of the impugned Act |
a. Section 4(ix)(a) of the impugned Act |
b. Section 4(ix)(b) of the impugned Act |
c. Section 5 of the impugned Act (Section 3C of the Amended Waqf Act) |
d. Section 5 of the impugned Act (Section 3D of the Amended Waqf Act) |
e. Section 5 of the impugned Act (Section 3E of the Amended Waqf Act) |
f. Sections 10, 12 and 16 of the impugned Act |
g. Section 21 of the impugned Act |
h. Section 43 of the impugned Act |
i. Section 44 of the impugned Act |
j. Section 45 of the impugned Act |
CONCLUSION |
INTRODUCTION
1. The first five writ petitions in this batch of matters being Writ Petition (Civil) Nos. 276, 314, 284, 331 and 269 of 2025 challenge the validity of several of the Sections of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, 1[Hereinafter referred to as “impugned Act”.] on the ground of they being ultra vires the Constitution of India being violative of Articles 14, 15, 19, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30 and 300A of the Constitution.
2. Though the petitioners seek to challenge the constitutionality of almost all the Sections of the impugned Act, from the tenor of the arguments advanced, it is apparent that the main challenge is to the amendments carried out in Section 3(r), 3C, 3D, 3E, 9, 14, 23, 36, 104, 107, 108, 108A of the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 19952[Hereinafter referred to as “Amended Waqf Act”.]. It is, therefore, clear that the most contentious Sections of the impugned Act are Sections 4(ix)(a), 4(ix)(b), 5, 10, 12, 16, 21, 43, 44 and 45 which have amended the provisions of the Waqf Act, 19953[Hereinafter referred to as “Original Waqf Act”.].
3. At the outset, Shri Tushar Mehta, the learned Solicitor General, appearing on behalf of the respondent-Union of India submitted that at the hearing which took place on 16th April 2025 and 17th April 2025, this Court had identified the following three issues for consideration at the interim stage:
(i) Challenge to Section 3(r) of the Amended Waqf Act, which de-recognises ‘Waqf by user’ prospectively;
(ii) Challenge to special provision for Government Properties under Section 3C of the Amended Waqf Act; and
(iii) Changes in the composition of the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Board under Section 9 and 14 of the Amended Waqf Act, respectively.
4. This position was, however, disputed by Shri Kapil Sibal, the learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of one of the petitioners. It was submitted by the learned Senior Counsel that there is nothing on record to that effect. We, therefore, proceeded to consider all the issues raised by the parties on the question of interim relief.
5. It is also relevant to note that when the matter was heard by the previous Bench presided over by the then Chief Justice of India, Shri Sanjiv Khanna on 17th April 2025, on certain aspects, a statement of the learned Solicitor General to the following effect was recorded:
“…He assures this Court that till the next date of hearing, no appointments would be made to the Central Waqf Council and the Waqf Boards in the States and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, under Sections 9 and 14 respectively of the principal Act, that is, the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995, as amended by the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. He further states that if the Government of any State or the National Capital Territory of Delhi makes any such appointment(s), the same may be declared void.
It is also stated that till the next date of hearing, no Waqf, including a Waqf by user, whether declared by way of notification or by way of registration, shall be de-notified, nor will the
