Why Supreme Court is under a security blanket before today's Waqf order

New Delhi: Security was heightened outside the Supreme Court on Monday ahead of the bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai pronouncing interim orders on pleas challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

Additional barricades, frisking points and access controls were in place around the court complex, with larger police deployment and restricted public entry.

According to the cause list for September 15, the court will issue interim directions on three issues flagged during hearings in May, when the bench reserved orders after three consecutive days of arguments.

The three issues before the court

Denotification power: Whether properties earlier recorded as “waqf by courts,” “waqf by user,” or “waqf by deed” can be denotified under the amended law.

Board composition: Whether only Muslims (besides ex-officio members) can serve on state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council, as urged by petitioners.

Government-land inquiry: A provision that treats a property as not waqf while the district collector conducts an inquiry to ascertain if it is government land.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the statute, citing the presumption of constitutionality and arguing that waqf is a secular legal construct not constituting an essential religious practice.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, leading the petitioners, called the amendments a departure from settled legal and constitutional principles and alleged they enable control of waqf through a non-judicial route.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs has filed a detailed preliminary affidavit opposing any blanket stay.

On high-sensitivity listing days, Delhi Police and court security commonly roll out layered measures such as:

Perimeter hardening: extra barricades, vehicle checks, metal detectors and hand-held scanners at all gates.

Entry controls: fewer public entry points, temporary passes for litigants and accredited media, and tighter accreditation checks.

Rapid response: quick-reaction teams on standby, anti-sabotage sweeps and K-9 checks inside and around the complex.

Traffic management: brief diversions or parking restrictions on adjoining roads if footfall rises sharply.

Advisories: monitoring of online mobilisation calls; anti-drone notifications where required.

Comparable arrangements were seen on past “high-temperature” verdict or hearing days, including:

The Ayodhya title judgment (2019), which saw layered security in Delhi and across Uttar Pradesh.

The Sabarimala entry matter (2018–19) and subsequent hearings.

The triple talaq ruling (2017).

Contentious hearing days during the CAA/NRC litigation (2019–20).

High-risk conviction days outside the Supreme Court (e.g., Gurmeet Ram Rahim, 2017) that shaped current planning playbooks.

Today’s interim order will guide waqf boards, district administrations and civil courts on immediate procedure while the broader constitutional challenge to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 continues.