SC order on Waqf: Jamiat expresses concern over refusal to stay prospective de-recognition of 'Waqf by user'

New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's order putting on hold some key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act but expressed concern over the top court's refusal to stay the entire law including prospective de-recognition of 'Waqf by user'.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani said the Muslim organisation will continue its legal and democratic struggle until this "oppressive law is repealed".

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind welcomes the decision granting interim relief on three key controversial provisions of the Waqf law, Madani said in a post in Hindi on X.

"This new Waqf law is a direct attack on the Constitution of the country, which not only grants equal rights to citizens and minorities but also provides them with complete religious freedom. This law is a dangerous, anti-Constitutional conspiracy to snatch away the religious freedom of Muslims," he claimed.

Therefore, Jamiat challenged the Waqf law in the Supreme Court, he added.

"We are confident that the Supreme Court will abolish this oppressive law and grant us full constitutional justice," Madani said.

However, he expressed concern over refusal to stay the prospective de-recognition of 'Waqf by user'.

Maulana Mahmood Madani, who heads the other faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said in a statement that the apex court's decision is somewhat satisfactory and also provides partial relief in some other cases.

The former Rajya Sabha member said that the biggest and basic issue is that of 'Waqf by user' and asserted that 'Waqf by user' was integral to the Islamic law.

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 the state Waqf boards not more than three out of 11.

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

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

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