Will not entertain pleas seeking stay on 1995 Waqf law: Supreme Court
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Thursday that it would not consider any plea seeking a stay of provisions of the earlier 1995 Waqf law. The court said that it will take up on May 20 the issue of considering interim relief on pleas challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, PTI reported.
The court asked why the law, which has been in place since 1995, has not been questioned this far. The petitioner argued that the petitions being questioned are under consideration in various high courts, but the court did not accept it.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for those challenging the validity of the law, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, to file their written notes by Monday.
“We will be considering the issue of interim relief only on Tuesday,” the CJI said while adjourning the hearing on the pleas.
The bench was told by the lawyers from both sides that the judges may need some more time to go through the pleadings.
Meanwhile, Tushar Mehta said that in any case, there is a subsisting assurance of the Centre that no waqf properties, including those established by a waqf by user, would be denotified.
Earlier, the law officer had also assured that no appointments to the Central Waqf Council or State Waqf Boards would be made under the new law.
Former CJI Sanjiv Khanna, whose bench was hearing the matter, demitted office on May 13, and the matters were transferred to the bench headed by Justice Gavai.