Supreme Court to Hear Waqf Amendment Act Challenge on May 20, Considers Interim Relief

The Supreme Court on Thursday announced that it will hear petitions challenging the validity of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, on May 20. The Court will decide whether an interim stay is necessary on certain provisions of the law related to the status of Waqf properties and the inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf councils and boards.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R. Gavai, along with Justice Augustine George Masih, ordered that the petitions be listed for hearing next Tuesday. This hearing comes after a bench led by former CJI Sanjiv Khanna had referred the matter to the new CJI bench due to Khanna’s impending retirement on May 5.

The bench stated that it would hear the petitioners for two hours and allow the central government, led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, two hours to decide whether an interim order should be issued regarding the relief sought.

For now, the Court has taken note of the assurance given by the Centre that it will not declare Waqf properties, including “Waqf-by-user,” as unnotified, and no appointments will be made to the Central Waqf Council or Waqf Boards. The Centre also assured that any appointments made by the state will be declared invalid.

The bench clarified, “We will give two hours to each party… the assurance given by the Solicitor General will continue. Instead of hearing the main issue, we will examine those issues that require interim relief.”

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