THE WAQF AMENDEMENT ACT, 2025: IS IT REALLY A REFORM OR A BIG CONTROVERSY?

If you have been reading news paper or watching news for a past year or so you must have come across the Waqf Amendment Act 2025. There has been a lot of debates that took place on this topic in parliaments, in courts and on the news channels. Some people think it’s a much-needed change while some feel like it was an attack to the minorities of the nation.

INTRODUCTION

What is WAQF? Why are people debating over it?

Well to answer this, waqf is a concept where the Muslim person (a person who follows Islam as their religion) donates a piece of land or their property for the pious, religious or charitable purpose. Once the property is donated away there’s no ownership of the doner on that property after which if it’s being declared WAQF then it cannot be transferred or sold or for any personal
reasons or purpose. It is said that the property now belongs to GOD (ALLAH) and is meant to be used by the community like mosques, graveyards, schools, hospitals and for other public welfare projects.

India have a massive amount of Waqf properties. According to the government of India, there’s a data which says over 8,72,000 Waqf properties are there across the country which almost covers the 9.4lakh acres of land. These properties are managed by each state level WAQF BOARD, which are set up by the state legislature under this law.

The main law which used to govern the Waqf Property was the Waqf Act 1995. this law has been changed significantly by the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 which the government has renamed as UMEED Act.
UMEED stands for Unified Management, Empowerment, and Efficiency Digitalization.

THE NEED FOR THE REFORM IN THE WAQF AMENDMENT ACT 1995

For many years the Waqf Board in India have been criticized for there poorly management systems. There were reports on mismanagement, missing records, and many cases where the waqf property were not being used for religious property. There were also hundreds of dispute over waqf properties that are stuck in courts. He government pointed out these problems and henceforth the system need to be fixed.
The joint Parliamentary committee reviews the bill and held meetings , consulted many stakeholders which includes the state government , waqf boards minority and commission.

The main goal of the Waqf Amendment act 2025 were to bring transparency , introduced a digital system for the records and financial accountability , they aimed for faster resolution and better protection for women and tribal communities.

SOME OF THE CHANGES INCLUDE

1. DIGITAL RECORDS – property managers ( also known as mutawallis) are required to register all the properties details on the central government portal within  6 months.
   
2. AUDIT– any waqf institution earning more than 1Lakh rupees per year must compulsorily go under a government mandate audit
   
3. WOMENS RIGHTS– the act says that before any property is declared waqf the heirs of the owner of such property specially the widows , divorced women and children must have the right to inherit there share of the property.
   
4. TRIBAL LAND PROTECTION– the act explicitly says that the land which is protected under the 5th and 6th schedules of the Indian constitution cannot be claimed as Waqf.

All these changes sounds legit and reasonable in a fair way on the papers

If so , then why is there a lot of controversy and debates over this?

In my opinion the problem doesn’t lie on what the law claims on the paper it’s about the bigger change it brings on the table.

1. NON MUSLIMS ON THE WAQF BOARD – one of the most debated and talked about changes that have been criticized by many is the change in the act that allows a non-muslim member to be included on Waqf Boards and at the Central Waqf Council. The argument  from the community is that WAQF is a Islamic religious institution specifically made for the people of Islam , non- muslim should not get to sit on the board that manages the Islamic religious property.
   
2. ABOILATION OF “WAQF BY USER”– under this law a property could be declared as Waqf based on its long term use for religious purposes even if there was no formal document of transfer of that document from its rightful owner to Waqf. The 2025 Amendment removes this concept completely which can put mosques , graveyards , dargah and masjids at the risk of losing its protected status.
   
3. THE 5 YEAR PRACTICING MUSLIM RULE – the act says that only a person who’s been a practicing Muslim for at least 5 years can dedicate property as Waqf. This raised a question of – WHO WILL DECIDE IF SOMEONE IS A “PRACTICING MUSLIM”? The Supreme Court has noticed this problem and stayed this provision.
   
4. GOVERNMENT POWER ON THE DISPUTED PROPERTIES – the amendment has given power to the state officials to decide whether the disputed property is of government land or the Waqf land.
   
5. REMOVAL OF SECTION 40 –  in the old waqf act there was section 40 which gave power to the waqf board to investigate and look around the properties. But the new amendment removes this section completely which have taken away the authority from the waqf board to protect their properties.

COURTS JUDGEMENT

More than 70+ petitions were filed in the supreme court, which challenge the constitutional validity of the new waqf amendment act 2005

Case name: In Re: Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (lead petition: Asaduddin Owaisi v. Union of India and others)

Court: Supreme Court of India

Bench: Initially heard by CJI Sanjiv Khanna with Justices P.V. Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan (April 2025); later decided by CJI B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih.

Docket/Citation: W.P. (C) No. 269/2025, with the interim order reported as 2025 INSC 1116

Key facts and proceedings:

• After the Bill received presidential assent, over 65 petitions from politicians, civil organizations, and advocates were filed challenging the Act, including by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, and DMK leaders.
• On its first hearing on 16 April 2025, a bench heard ten petitions challenging the constitutionality of the 2025 Amendment Act, and the Bench clarified that the case is no longer styled in the name of any individual or organization but is now titled “In Re: Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025”.
• The Bench refused to entertain challenges to the 1995 Act, focusing only on the 2025 Act.
• The petitions argued the Act’s provisions were ultra vires the Constitution, violating Articles 14, 15, 19, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, and 300A, with the primary challenge focused on amendments to Sections 3(r), 3C, 3D, 3E, 9, 14, 23, 36, 104, 107, 108, and 108A.

The 15 September 2025 interim order (the key ruling):

• The bench concluded that no case had been made out to stay the entire statute, so the prayer for a complete stay was rejected.
• However, the Court partially stayed the requirement under Section 3(r) that a person must show they have been “professing Islam for at least five years” to create a waqf ,
  this stays in effect until the State Government frames rules for determining such status.
• The Court clarified its observations don’t prevent parties from raising further arguments on the validity of other provisions, meaning the matter is still pending for final adjudication.

Who Is right in this situation?
well I don’t think the problem is of who is right or who is wrong but the problem is how Waqf properties have been managed in India was soo poor that it definitely needed a reform that was necessary. The supreme court is still looking into this matter and the final verdict on the Waqf amendment act 2025 is yet to come. This law has become one of the significant piece of legislation in the current situation when it comes to minority rights and the relationship between the state and religious institutions in India.

CONCLUSION

The Waqf Amendment Act 2025 has brought some major changes on how the waqf properties are managed and governed in India. The government says these changes were much needed to make waqf administration more transparent and efficient. However, many people in the Muslim community and opposition parties strongly disagree with the government and argues that this law interferes with their religious rights.

This debate reflects a larger tension that often comes up in matters of religious governance – how do you ensure proper oversight and prevent mismanagement, without stepping on the community’s right to self-governance? There’s no easy answer, and that’s exactly why this issue has become so contentious.

As the law gets implemented across most states, only time will tell how it plays out on the ground. Will it genuinely improve the management of waqf properties, or will it deepen the trust deficit between the government and the community it affects? For now, the conversation remains open, and it’s one that deserves continued attention – both from policymakers and citizens alike.

REFERENCES

1. Vajiramandravi.com. Waqf Amendment Act 2025, where it came from what people are saying about it and what has changed (April 2026). Vajiramandravi.com/upsc-exam/waqf-amendment-act-2025/
2. Lawctopus / CLATalogue. What you need to know about the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025 (April 2026). Lawctopus.com/clatalogue/clat-pg/overview-of-the-waqf-amendment-act-2025/
3. Detailed case tracking and analysis: SCC Online Blog and Supreme Court Observer (scobserver.in) 
4. The order/judgment text is available via the Supreme Court of India’s official site (sci.gov.in) under W.P.(C) 269/2025.
5. Soufan Center. The Waqf Amendment Act 2025 is a move in the plan of the Hindu Nationalists (April 17 2025). Thesoufancenter.org
6. SSRN. Sabah, Shariq Us wrote about the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025. How it will change the way things are run (June 2025). Ssrn.com/abstract=5291793
7. Arise Bharat. A complete look at the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 (April 2025). Arisebharat.com
8. Vintage Legal VL. How the Waqf has changed over time and what the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 means (June 2025). Vintagelegalvl.com
9. News on Air (Government of India). The Waqf Amendment Act makes it easier to manage Waqf properties (May 2025). Newsonair.gov.in
10. Liberation.org.in. The Waqf Amendment Act 2025 is an example of law making that’s not fair, to everyone (June 2025). Liberation.org.in