India top court halts Waqf amendment bill

The Indian Supreme Court has paused all activities under the amended Muslim charity land (waqf) control bill until the next hearing over the matter in the week starting 5 May.

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted the BJP-led Hindu nationalist government a week’s time to file a response to the petitions challenging constitutional validity of its Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

Through the amendment bill, the government was poised to nominate non-Muslim members to Waqf boards to gain control over all types of Muslim charity land, potentially to check Muslim wealth growth.

In response to the top court ruling, the government has assured that no appointments will be made to the Waqf Council or Waqf boards.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court noted assurance of the government that till the next date of hearing, all forms of waqf land across India, including “waqf by user”, which is declared by “simple notification” or “legally registered,” will neither be denotified nor its character changed.

In India, Waqf land are the immovable properties, which affluent Muslims donate for charitable purposes like building mosques, madrasahs, graveyards and others. There are two types of Waqf land: those that do not have valid legal documents but are popularly known for generations to belong to a Muslim group or individual, and those legally registered as Waqf land.