Supreme Court grants Centre week to reply on Waqf Act validity, says no changes to ‘waqf by user’ till next hearing
By : Sandhya
On Thursday, the Supreme Court gave the Center one week to respond to the petitions contesting the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The Supreme Court took note of the Center's guarantee that wakf, including "waqf by user," which is declared by notification or registered, would not be denotified or have its nature altered until the next hearing date.
Additionally, the Center announced that no appointments will be made to the Waqf boards or Waqf Council. At 2:00 PM on Thursday, the case will be heard again by a three-judge panel consisting of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justices PV Sanjay Kumar, and KV Viswanathan. The highest court scheduled the next hearing for the week of May 5th, by which time the petitioners, states, and the Center would submit their opposition to the Act. Five petitions were chosen as lead petitions by the court, and the petitioners will make the final decision.
Hindu parties' cases contesting the previous Waqf statutes of 1995 and 2013 were separated by the Supreme Court. Additionally, it mandated that the five applications contesting the 2025 Act be grouped together under the headline "In Re: Waqf Amendment Act 2025."