Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Letter and spirit: On Supreme Court and Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 judgment

Letter and spirit: On Supreme Court and Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 judgment

The Supreme Court did well to stay and uphold different Waqf Act provisions 

The Supreme Court of India walked a tightrope in its judgment delivered on September 15, 2025, on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which amended the 1995 Waqf Act to regulate Muslim religious endowments (दान, धर्मस्व), including vast land holdings across India. The Court put several controversial provisions on hold but refused to freeze the entire Act on grounds of constitutionality and other concerns. This turned out to be a rare instance where supporters and critics of the Act claimed vindication (दोषमुक्ति) for their respective positions in the Court’s order. The government views the amendments as necessary to curb the alleged misuse and corruption under the earlier Waqf Act, while critics, including the Congress, see it as arbitrary (मनमाना, स्वेच्छाचारी) interference in the affairs of the Muslim community. The Court has now stayed the requirement that only Muslims practising for five years can create waqf, and the power vested in District Collectors to adjudicate (न्यायनिर्णय करना, फ़ैसला सुनाना) waqf property disputes. It also capped non-Muslim members to four in the Central Waqf Council and three in State Boards, down from potentially 12 and seven, respectively. The Court also directed that CEOs of Waqf Boards should preferably be Muslims. The removal of the provision for waqf-by-user recognition in the amended law has been upheld as valid by the Court, with the caveat that waqf properties registered as on April 8, 2025, under such a claim remain protected. Restrictions on waqf status for protected monuments and tribal lands were deemed constitutionally valid.

While the order diffuses the conflict for now, the larger question of balancing religious autonomy (स्वायत्तता) and state regulation continues — and that is better tackled through building consensus (सर्वसम्मति) within and between communities. Autonomy claims cannot be a facade (The principal front of a building; an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant reality) for misuse of community resources by its own leaders; nor can any group of people lay claim over public resources in the name of faith. The state has not only the right but also the responsibility to ensure that people are not taken for a ride by anyone. The trouble arises when the state discriminates between religious groups in the application of this principle. The Court rightly went with the philosophy of presumption (अनुमान, पूर्वधारणा) of constitutionality of laws passed by Parliament. But partisan politics of an extreme nature can delegitimise (अवैध ठहराना) representational (प्रतिनिधित्वात्मक) democracy. The government must consciously negotiate (बातचीत करना, मोलभाव करना) with the Opposition in Parliament to ensure that the laws enacted have the widest political and social acceptance. When laws affecting particular communities are made, they should be taken into confidence. None of this is easy, and complete consensus is never possible, but attempts should be made in that direction.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Endowments (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - दान, धर्मस्व
English Meaning - An income or form of property given or bequeathed to someone or something.

2.Vindication (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - दोषमुक्ति
English Meaning - The action of clearing someone of blame or suspicion; proof that someone or something is right.

3.Arbitrary (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मनमाना, स्वेच्छाचारी
English Meaning - Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.

4.Adjudicate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - न्यायनिर्णय करना, फ़ैसला सुनाना
English Meaning - To make a formal judgment or decision about a problem or disputed matter.

5.Autonomy (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - स्वायत्तता
English Meaning - The right or condition of self-government.

6.Consensus (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - सर्वसम्मति
English Meaning - General agreement.

7.Presumption (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुमान, पूर्वधारणा
English Meaning - An idea that is taken to be true, and often used as the basis for argument, although not proved; behavior perceived as arrogant or too bold.

8.Delegitimise (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - अवैध ठहराना
English Meaning - To withdraw legitimacy or authority from.

9.Representational (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिनिधित्वात्मक
English Meaning - Relating to or denoting a style of art or language that depicts objects, figures, or ideas in a recognizable way.

10.Negotiate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - बातचीत करना, मोलभाव करना
English Meaning - To try to reach an agreement or compromise by discussion with others.

11.Waqf (Noun)

English Meaning - An endowment made by a Muslim to a religious, educational, or charitable cause.

12.Facade (Noun)

English Meaning - The principal front of a building; an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant reality.