India's Supreme Court on Monday stayed several key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, that had altered how properties donated by Muslims — known as waqf — are identified and governed, but declined to invalidate the law in its entirety.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih granted the interim relief after petitions from Muslim groups and opposition parties challenged the amendments, saying they infringed on the rights of the Muslim community. The government has defended the measure as an effort to improve transparency and management of waqf properties.
The court halted a provision that would have given the executive the final authority to determine whether a disputed property qualified as waqf. The judges said allowing the government to decide the rights of a citizen would undermine the separation of powers guaranteed by the Constitution, noting that "the grant of stay is only in the rarest of rare category." The stay prevents the executive from unilaterally resolving waqf status while the petitions remain under consideration.
Another challenged clause requiring a waqf donor to have been a practising Muslim for at least five years was struck down. The bench also imposed limits on the nomination of non-Muslims to waqf management bodies: it capped non-Muslim membership at four in the 22-member central Waqf Board and at three in 11-member state boards. The court said "efforts should be made to appoint the chief executive officer of the board from amongst the Muslim community." The judges declined to fully suspend the provision that permits non-Muslims to serve on waqf boards but limited their numbers.
Under the 1995 Waqf Act, state-level waqf boards and a central council manage properties donated for religious and charitable Islamic purposes such as mosques, madrassas and orphanages. The 2025 amendment introduced new criteria for establishing waqf status, including a requirement that waqf boards produce valid documentary evidence to claim a property as waqf. In disputes, the amendment had placed the final decision-making power with the government — a change the court has now stayed.
Government records show 872,852 waqf properties on paper in India. Of those, at least 13,200 are embroiled in legal disputes, 58,889 have been reported as encroached upon, and more than 436,000 have an unclear legal status, figures the government has cited in support of reform.
Petitioners argued that many waqf properties were created through oral declarations or long-standing community practice and that tight documentary requirements and executive adjudication would deprive the community of longstanding rights. The government countered that many properties lack clear records, that encroachment is widespread, and that the amendments were necessary to bring clarity and transparency.
The case reached the Supreme Court in early April shortly after Parliament passed the amendment in that month. The court heard the matter over multiple days and had reserved its judgment on May 22 after three continuous days of arguments. Monday's order provides temporary relief on the contested provisions while the court considers the broader legal challenges.
The ruling leaves the amended law partly intact while curbing several of its most controversial elements. Litigants and the government will return to the Supreme Court as further arguments proceed on the remaining challenged provisions.