‘Win for constitutional values’: Opposition on SC staying provisions of Waqf Act

Several Opposition parties on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court’s order staying several provisions of the Waqf Amendment Act, saying that the judgement goes a long way towards undoing the “mischievous intentions” underlying the original statute.

Earlier in the day, the court said that no case had been made to stay the entire amendment. However, several provisions, including one that requires a person creating a waqf to have been a practising Muslim for at least five years, were put on hold.

In its interim order, the court said that the five-year requirement would be suspended until state governments frame rules to determine how such a condition can be verified. Without such a mechanism, the provision could lead to arbitrariness, it added.

A waqf is an endowment under Islamic law dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property.

The court has been hearing a set of petitions challenging the Waqf Amendment Act, which critics say discriminates against Muslims and interferes with waqf property management. The Centre has defended the law, saying it aims to prevent misuse of waqf provisions to encroach on public and private land.

The Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, among...

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