India’s Supreme Court suspended key provisions of a controversial new law that changes how properties donated by Muslims are owned and managed in the country.
The court was hearing pleas by Muslim groups and opposition parties who argue the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 infringes on the rights of Muslims. The government says it will make managing the properties more transparent.
In Islamic tradition, a waqf is a charitable or religious donation made by Muslims for the benefit of the community.
Such properties – worth billions of dollars – are important to India’s 200 million Muslims as they are used for mosques, madrassas, graveyards and orphanages – and cannot be sold for any other purpose.
Historically, these properties have been governed by the Waqf Act, 1995, which mandated the formation of state-level waqf boards to manage them.
But in April, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government amended the act, including changes to how a waqf property is determined and managed, sparking criticism from the community.
On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih refused to strike down the entire law saying that “the grant of stay is only in the rarest of rare category”.
It did, however, halt a controversial provision which allowed the government to decide whether a disputed property is waqf or not.
Over the years, many properties that were donated through oral declarations or community customs have been legitimised as waqf properties because of their continuous use by the Muslim community.
But under the new law, waqf boards were required to provide valid documents to claim a property as waqf. In case of disputes, the final decision rested with the government.
The court struck down the rule, saying that allowing the government to determine the rights of a citizen would go against the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary, mandated under the constitution.
Another contentious provision that was scrapped was a clause that required a waqf donor to be a practising Muslim for at least five years.
The waqf properties are currently managed by state-level boards and a central council, with nominees from the state government, Muslim lawmakers, members of state bar council, Islamic scholars and the managers of these properties.
While the judges refused to stay a provision that allows the nomination of non-Muslims to the waqf board, they limited the number of non-Muslim members to four in the 22-member federal board and to three in the 11-member state boards.
The court also said that “efforts should be made to appoint the chief executive officer of the board from amongst the Muslim community”.
The case reached the top court in early April, soon after the law was passed by parliament amid widespread criticism from Muslim groups and opposition parties.
By BBC News
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