Waqf-by-user denotification would be ‘huge problem’, says Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which de-recognised the “established” waqf-by-user category of property, allowed non-Muslims into waqf administrative bodies and granted the state power to determine if a property was waqf or government.

The two-hour hearing of around 100 petitions in a packed courtroom saw Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, heading a three-judge Bench, refer to the communal violence in West Bengal over the 2025 Act as “very disturbing”.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice went on to propose a three-point interim order to “balance equities” on all sides in the case.

Firstly, he suggested that properties already declared waqf by courts need not, for the time being, be de-notified or treated as non-waqf properties. These would include properties categorised as ‘waqf-by-user’ or waqf by long usage without formal documentation or registration, waqf by declaration or “otherwise”.