SC order on Waqf Act good sign for democracy, says Rijiju

Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, saying it was a very good sign for democracy.

The Supreme Court has put on hold several key provisions of the Act, including the clause that only those practising Islam for the last five years can dedicate a property as Waqf, but refused to stay the entire law.

"I believe that whatever the apex court has ruled is a very good sign for our democracy," Rijiju told reporters after the groundbreaking ceremony of the Centre of Excellence in Heritage Languages and Cultural Studies at Mumbai University's Kalina campus in Mumbai.

"The provisions in the Act are beneficial to the entire Muslim community," the Minority Affairs minister said.

The misuse, including encroachment of property through Waqf Board, will now be stopped with the new legislation, the minister said.

"The Supreme Court was aware of the whole issue," he said, describing the apex court as a beacon of India's parliamentary democracy.

The waqf legislation was passed in Parliament after the longest discussion in history, Rijiju said, adding it will benefit the entire Muslim community, including poor Muslim brothers and women.

The government presented all the facts and the rationale behind the bill before the Supreme Court, the minister said.

Speaking at the university programme earlier, Rijiju said the university's new course will lay a strong foundation for India's bright future rooted in its cultural heritage.

Rijiju said the country is on the right track to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047. He called upon the university to play an important role in this journey.

India has always been an inclusive society embracing everyone, the minister said. Panning reports of deteriorating human rights conditions in the country, Rijiju said no other nation cares for its minorities the way India does.

Nobody is unsafe in India, the minister said, adding that incidents of assaults on minorities have reduced to negligible levels since 2014.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)