Supreme Court to Hear Only Five Petitions After Expressing Displeasure Over 100+ Filed on Same Issue

National News: The Supreme Court expressed displeasure during the hearing on Thursday about the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The bench said that more than 100 petitions have been filed on the same subject, which is unnecessary burden on the judicial system. The court clarified that it would now consider only five petitions so that the hearing can be held in a simple and systematic manner. A bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna also raised the question that when five petitions were sufficient, why did there be a need to file such a large number of petitions?

Ban on new appointments in Waqf Parishad & Boards

The court has given a week's time seeking answers from the central government on this issue. Also, it has been directed that no new appointment should be made in the Central Waqf Parishad and any State Waqf Board till the next hearing. The court also clarified that there has been no stay on the implementation of the Act, but the interim ban on new appointments will remain effective.

Central government gets time to file reply

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested the court that he needed some time to file an initial answer. He said that the central government wants to present a detailed reply to the court along with some documents. The bench accepted this request and gave the government a week.

The Supreme Court also clarified that the assets already lodged under the 1995 Waqf Act would not be affected in any way. The Center has also assured the court that the status of the properties registered under 'Waqf by-Did' and 'Waqf by user' will be upheld and they will not be non-obliged till the next hearing.

Disputed Act was notified on 5 April

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 was recently passed from both houses of Parliament. In Rajya Sabha, it was passed by 128 votes against 95 and 288 votes in Lok Sabha. After this, the Act was notified on 5 April with the approval of the President.

Next hearing will be held on May 5 

The court has set the next hearing of the case on May 5 at 2 pm. The court made it clear that only limited debate will be done on that day and till then the situation will remain the same.