2025 Waqf Law Amendments Purely Regulatory, Won’t Impact Religious Rights: Centre Tells Supreme Court

The Union Government has told the Supreme Court that the recent amendments made to the Waqf Act in 2025 are administrative in nature and do not interfere with the religious rights of the Muslim community. The Centre’s affidavit clarified that the changes aim to improve transparency and governance around waqf properties but do not touch upon or restrict religious practices.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs emphasized that removing the “waqf-by-user” clause from the Act won’t affect already registered or officially notified waqf properties. It pointed out that the requirement for registration of waqf assets is not new, having existed under various laws since the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923, and reaffirmed in the 1954 and 1995 Waqf Acts.

Responding to concerns about the inclusion of non-Muslim members in waqf boards, the Centre clarified that such members are limited in number. At most, four out of twenty-two members of the Central Waqf Council and three out of eleven members of a State Waqf Board (assuming all ex-officio members are non-Muslim) can be from outside the Muslim community. This, the government argued, does not alter the essentially Muslim nature of these bodies.

The affidavit firmly stated that the 2025 amendments are strictly related to the management and operational aspects of waqf properties—such as maintaining records and procedural norms—and do not impact religious rights or Islamic obligations. The Centre reiterated that the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom remains fully protected.

The Supreme Court is hearing multiple petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The government’s response is a crucial part of the court’s ongoing consideration.