SC order on Waqf Act: 'Tight slap' on Modi govt, says Oppn; constitutionality of law upheld, contends BJP

Political parties on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's order on the new Waqf law with the Opposition including the Congress saying it has put on hold controversial clauses that ''infringed'' on the rights of Muslims and the BJP contending that the court has upheld the constitutionality of the law by not staying it.

Prominent Muslim bodies also welcomed the apex court order expressing hope of getting ''complete justice'' in the matter once the final verdict is pronounced.

Both the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) termed the order a welcome step, even as the former said it expected the top court to stay the entire law, and not just certain key provisions. The AIMPLB also expressed dissatisfaction over the top court's refusal to stay the entire law saying it leaves ''numerous harmful provisions'' in operation.

The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold several key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 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 outlining the presumption of constitutionality in its favour.

''Presumption is always in favour of constitutionality of a statute and intervention (can be done) only in the rarest of rare cases,'' a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said in its 128-page interim order on the contentious issue.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju welcomed the interim order on the law, saying it was a very good sign for democracy.

''I believe that whatever the apex court has ruled is a very good sign for our democracy,'' Rijiju told reporters in Mumbai.

''The provisions in the Act are beneficial to the entire Muslim community,'' he said.

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

The BJP welcomed the apex court's order and said it sends out a message to those who were playing "politics of fear" and building a "negative narrative" that the amendments made in the Waqf law "constitutionally correct".

"Certainly it's a welcome decision. The double bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai has accepted the amendments brought by the government and rejected the petition against it. There is no stay on the entire operation of the amendments," BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli told PTI "The stay is only with effect to one or two areas where the court felt there may be an arbitrary exercise of powers, say by a district magistrate, because it was not defined in terms of what would be the mechanism," he added.

The Congress termed the court's decision as a win for constitutional values of justice, equality and fraternity, while asserting that it goes a long way towards undoing the ''mischievous intentions'' underlying the original statute.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the apex court in its interim order reaffirmed its resolve to protect the rights of minorities -- a cause for which the Opposition stood united against the Modi government.

''The BJP had sought to bulldoze a divisive law, designed solely to inflame communal passions and reopen issues that India had long settled. The Congress party stands firm in defending the rights of every citizen, without fear or favour, as guaranteed by our Constitution,'' Kharge said on X.

The BJP, in contrast, thrives on dividing society for narrow electoral gains, he alleged.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the top court order on the Act represents a substantial victory not just for the parties that opposed this arbitrary law in Parliament but all those members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee who submitted detailed dissent notes which were then ignored but now stand vindicated.

''The Order is an important one because it goes a long way towards undoing the mischievous intentions underlying the original statute,'' Ramesh said on X.

''We welcome this order as a win for the constitutional values of justice, equality, and fraternity,'' he added.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the interim order is a vindication of his party's stand that this law is ''blatantly unconstitutional'' and designed to ''target'' a particular community.

This decision is yet another ''tight slap'' on the face of the government that is solely focused on ''destroying'' the Constitution, Venugopal said.

Syed Naseer Hussain, Congress general secretary and a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee that examined the Waqf law, thanked the Supreme Court saying it has reaffirmed the constitutional safeguards that protect minority rights and struck a balance between reform and representation.

Welcoming the order, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said it is a major step towards ''undoing the unconstitutional and illegal amendments made by the BJP government''. ''Today's order strengthens the hope and trust that people place in the Hon'ble Supreme Court to safeguard the religious rights of the Muslim minority community and to uphold the Constitution,'' he added.

BJP leader Jagdambika Pal, who chaired the parliamentary panel that looked into the provisions of the Waqf Amendment Bill, said the government will examine certain provisions and take necessary action.

However, on the petitions filed by the Opposition seeking a stay on amendments, he said the Supreme Court has ordered that individuals can approach a high court or the apex court if needed.

''The court has upheld the law that was passed by both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,'' he asserted.

Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah said it is a good development. ''We have been saying from day one that the bill was targeting followers of a single religion. It is reassuring that the Supreme Court has understood this issue.'' AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said the top court has given an interim order on the Waqf (Amendment) Act and hoped that it would soon pass its verdict on the whole legislation itself.

''The finality of the Act has not been decided. It's only an interim order. Let us hope they quickly decide the whole issue of the Act itself,'' he told reporters in Hyderabad.

Left parties too welcomed the verdict, with CPI-M general secretary M A Baby saying the court has stayed certain provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, including the one that mandated a disputed property would not be treated as Waqf unless the executive permits it after an inquiry. ''The CPI-M welcomes the partial stay,'' he added.

CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar, in a statement, welcomed the interim order, saying the apex court's intervention confirms that amendments were hurriedly pushed through by the BJP without proper discussion.

''Such laws must strengthen, not weaken, the secular fabric of our Republic,'' he said.

YSRCP leader Shaikh Mehboob Shareef said in Vijayawada, ''We welcome the Supreme Court's decision on the Waqf (Amendment) Act. We were against it earlier too.'' However, BJP leader Prem Shukla said the decision given by the Supreme Court is ''historic''. ''Those who claimed that the Indian government had made the Waqf law against the Constitution have received their answer today. The Supreme Court has upheld it as constitutional, and the demands of those who opposed it have been rejected.'' VHP president Alok Kumar said it is an interim order and the Waqf law will come into action based on top court's guidelines.

BJP leader and former minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slammed the Opposition for criticising the amendments to the Waqf Act and said those involved in communal attack on a constitutional reform are neither well-wishers of the country nor any religion.

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