Rush Hour: Supreme Court stays provisions of Waqf Act, Vantara gets clean chit and more

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The Supreme Court has stayed several provisions of the Waqf Amendment Act, which had gone into effect from April 8. Among the provisions put on hold is one that required a person creating a waqf, or Muslim charitable endowment, to have been a practicing Muslim for at least five years.

The amendments brought in April allowed non-Muslims on waqf boards, restricted property donations and changed how waqf tribunals function.

On Monday, the Supreme Court said that the number of non-Muslim members cannot exceed four in the Central Waqf Council and three in state waqf boards. It also stayed a provision that allowed the government to derecognise waqf land while a decision on encroachment is pending. Read more.

With the Waqf Bill, the state brings a legal bulldozer to minority rights

The Supreme Court has said that the acquisition of animals by the wildlife rescue centre Vantara was prima facie within the rules. It cited a report by a Special Investigation Team it had appointed.

The centre is run by Reliance Foundation in Gujarat’s Jamnagar.

The court had formed the team on August 25 after an ailing elephant was shifted from a...

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