NEW DELHI: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court of India’s interim judgment on the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, describing it as “incomplete and unsatisfactory” and sharing that the community feels that “those provisions not stayed at this stage shall be abused.”The Board noted that while the Court has granted partial relief, the refusal to stay the entire Act “leaves numerous other harmful provisions in operation, including the prospective de-recognition of ‘Waqf by user’ and the mandatory requirement of a Waqf deed, which goes against the established tenets of Islamic law.” The Board’s spokesperson S Q R Ilyas said the Board will continue with its protests under the ‘Save Waqf Campaign’ and a rally will be held at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, on November 16.The Court verdict evoked a mixed reaction from Muslim bodies like Jamiat Ulama -i- Hind that while welcoming the partial relief on certain clauses by the SC, emphasized that the Court’s remarks on “Waqf by User” are particularly “alarming and demand serious attention”.Meanwhile, All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, Shariq Adeeb Ansari, national working president, welcomed the the verdict saying that the “nuanced judgment that protects constitutional principles, secures justice and maintains the sanctity of Waqf institutions while upholding the rule of law.” “I believe this verdict will benefit India’s Muslims — especially the Pasmanda sections — by safeguarding their rights within the constitutional framework,” he said.However, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind faction led by President, Maulana Mahmood Madani expressed concern over the fate of “Waqf by User”. He said that that India has more than 4 lakh Waqf properties classified under “Waqf by User,” including 1.19 lakh mosques and 1.50 lakh graveyards. More than 80% of these are unregistered.“The recent amendment has completely abolished the concept of “Waqf by User,” while merely exempting properties already registered — a cosmetic adjustment that fails to resolve the core concern,” he said. The interim order cannot be considered satisfactory until “Waqf by User” is fully safeguarded,” he added.Even as the JUH faction led by Arshad Madani welcomed the interim relief on certain provisions, he alleged that the Waqf Amendment Act was a “dangerous conspiracy against the Constitution aimed at snatching away the religious freedom of Muslims” and said that the Jamiat is confident that the SC will “strike down this law and provide complete constitutional justice”.The AIMPLB, however, highlighted the provisions where the Supreme Court’s interim order has provided relief like staying the provision that required a government officer’s report to validate waqf ownership, observing that executive authorities cannot decide property rights of citizens and saying that no Waqf shall be dispossessed or have its records altered until the matter is fully adjudicated by the Waqf Tribunal.The Board also cites that the Court’s directions with regards to number of non-Mulsims in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards and the stay on the requirement that a person must show or demonstrate that they have been “professing Islam for at least five years” to create a Waqf until the govt frames rules for such determination.
