Supreme Court Defers Hearing On Waqf Amendment Act To 20 May

The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred the hearing on petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 to next Tuesday (20 May).

The matter was briefly heard by a new bench comprising CJI Gavai and Justice A G Masih, following its referral from the bench of retired CJI Sanjiv Khanna, which had previously identified three key issues for interim relief consideration, reported LiveLaw.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Court he has filed a detailed reply on the three issues identified by the court that waqf properties declared by courts won’t be de-notified during hearings; the proviso allowing suspension of waqf status during a Collector’s inquiry won’t apply for now; and only Muslims, barring ex-officio members, may be appointed to Waqf Boards and the Central Council.

Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Rajiv Dhavan, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Huzefa Ahmadi, and CU Singh appeared for the petitioners.

Sibal stated that petitioners would submit a short note highlighting provisions that are per se unconstitutional, as directed by the Court.

During the hearing, objections were raised regarding the selection of lead writ petitions, which were all filed by Muslim parties.

In response, it was clarified that the Court has re-designated the matter as ‘In Re Challenge to Waqf Amendment Act’ to avoid any impression of communal bias.

The Court also firmly declined Advocate Vishnu Shankar's attempt to raise challenges to the 1995 Act within the current proceedings.

"We will not consider any request or stay of the provisions of the 1995 Act. We are making it clear. Just because someone is trying to make a challenge to the 2025 Act, somebody just wants to jump in and challenge 1995 Act—that will not be permissible," CJI Gavai remarked.

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