Hyderabad: Congress leader and Telangana government advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir welcomed the Supreme Court’s interim stay on two disputed provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. He described the order as a crucial step that defended Muslim rights and the autonomy of waqf institutions.
As one of the petitioners challenging the amendments, Shabbir Ali said the Court stopped the clause that required a person to remain a practising Muslim for five years before creating a waqf. He also noted that the Court blocked another clause that empowered government officials to rule on waqf encroachment disputes.
“The Supreme Court has blocked two dangerous provisions of the 2025 law. This action shows the judiciary recognised the unconstitutional intent behind these clauses,” he said on Monday.
Shabbir Ali Supreme Court stay seen as substantive relief
According to Shabbir Ali, the five-year condition created a discriminatory religious test. Instead of protecting waqf rights, he said it imposed arbitrary faith barriers. Moreover, centuries of Islamic jurisprudence never recognised such restrictions on waqf creation in India.
He further argued that the clause on encroachment disputes posed a severe threat to due process. Normally, he said, courts must handle land disputes to preserve fairness. However, the amendment authorised officials to act as judges, which he described as both illegal and dangerous.
Notably, Shabbir Ali emphasised that the relief granted by the Court was not symbolic. In his view, the order demonstrated that the judiciary acknowledged serious flaws in the drafting of the law. “This order is not symbolic. It confirms that some parts of the law may be unconstitutional. But the struggle continues,” he said.
Concerns over remaining Waqf Act clauses
While welcoming the stay, Shabbir Ali warned that several clauses still remained operational. He pointed to stricter definitions of waqf, new digital registries created without community oversight, and procedural barriers for historical claims. In addition, he said the Centre ignored objections raised by opposition parties, religious leaders and social groups before pushing the law through Parliament.
He maintained that the amendments weakened the independence of Waqf Boards by shifting authority from communities to central government structures. As a result, he argued, the law advanced a broader plan to erode minority rights and weaken institutional safeguards.
Legal fight to continue in Supreme Court
Meanwhile, Shabbir Ali reiterated that the legal campaign was not politically driven. Instead, he framed it as a duty to defend the constitutional rights of Indian Muslims. “We approached the Court with faith in the Constitution. The interim relief strengthens that faith. We will pursue this battle legally, socially and politically,” he said.