SC order goes long way in undoing 'mischievous intentions' underlying original statute: Cong

New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) The Congress on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court order putting on hold several key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act as a win for the constitutional values of justice, equality, and fraternity, and asserted that it goes a long way towards undoing the "mischievous intentions" underlying the original statute.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the Supreme Court’s order on the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 represents a substantial victory not just for the parties that opposed this arbitrary law in Parliament but all those members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee who submitted detailed dissent notes which were then ignored but now stand vindicated.

"The Order is an important one because it goes a long way towards undoing the mischievous intentions underlying the original statute," Ramesh said on X.

Counsels for the opposition parties had argued that the law would result in the creation of a structure where anyone and everyone could challenge the status of the property before the Collector, and the status of the property would be in limbo while in such litigation, he said.

Additionally, only a ‘Muslim’ practising for five years could donate to a Waqf, Ramesh said.

"The intention behind these sections was always apparent -- to keep the voter base inflamed and create an administrative structure to indulge those seeking to foment religious disputes," he alleged.

"With this order, the Supreme Court has -- stayed the powers of the Collector; protected existing Waqf properties from dubious challenges and; stayed the provision requiring proof of being a Muslim for five years until such times as rules are framed," he said.

"We welcome this order as a win for the constitutional values of justice, equality, and fraternity," Ramesh added.

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera accused the government of making laws without any discussion and said the Supreme Court has to intervene to give relief.

"This is not happening for the first time, in the last 10-11 years, many such cases have come up where relief was given due to the judiciary. Any government, elected government, elected by the votes of the people, when makes a law without any discussion, without consultation, then this happens," he said.

The Supreme Court put on hold several key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the clause that only those practising Islam for the last five years can dedicate a property as Waqf, but refused to stay the entire law.

"We have held that presumption is always in favour of constitutionality of a statute and intervention (can be done) only in the rarest of rare cases," a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said in its interim order on the intensely debated issue.

The apex court also pressed pause on the powers given to a collector to adjudicate the status of Waqf properties and ruled on the contentious issue of non-Muslim participation in Waqf Boards, directing that the Central Waqf Council should not have more than four non-Muslim members out of 20, and State Waqf Boards not more than three of 11.

The CJI said the bench has considered the "prima facie challenge" to each section in the new law and found that "no case was made out to stay entire provisions of the statute".

"However some sections need some protection,” he said.

The bench made clear that its directions were prima facie and interim in nature and they would not prevent the petitioners or the government from advancing full arguments on the constitutional validity of the law at the stage of final hearing.

CJI Gavai then referred to the provisions which have been interfered with or stayed by the interim order.

“The requirement that a person has to be a practising Muslim for the last five years before he can dedicate a property as Waqf (Section 3(r)) has been stayed until the state governments rules are framed for examining whether a person is a practising Muslim or not. Without any such rule/ mechanism, the provision will lead to an arbitrary exercise of power," the order said.

One of the most significant interventions came in relation to Section 3C, which had vested powers in designated government officers to determine the status of Waqf properties.

The Centre notified the Act on April 8 after it got President Droupadi Murmu's assent on April 5.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 on April 3 and April 4 respectively. PTI ASK ASK DV DV