Clerics welcome SC ruling on Waqf Act, hope for final verdict in ‘favour of Muslims’

New Delhi: As the Supreme Court put a stay on certain provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, a couple of Muslim clerics on Monday expressed satisfaction with the interim relief, stating that their efforts would continue until the final verdict comes in “favour of the Muslims.”

The apex court in its interim order on Monday, declined to stay the Waqf Act in its entirety, noting that a statute carries a presumption of constitutionality and can be stayed only in the rarest of cases.

However, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih stayed the provision mandating five years of practising Islam for the creation of Waqf, until rules are framed.

The court also stayed the provision that empowered a designated officer to decide whether a Waqf property had encroached on government land, observing that allowing an executive officer to adjudicate on property rights would breach the principle of separation of powers.

Reacting to the decision, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali told IANS, “Regarding the Waqf Amendment Act, the Supreme Court has issued an interim order today. We have received significant relief from this interim order. Although our demand was for a stay on the entire law, the relief granted is still substantial. Efforts will continue, as no final direction has been issued yet.”

He pointed out that the stay covered the “five-year Islam practice condition” and clarified that “the CEO must be from the Muslim community,” while also noting that “the overriding powers given to the District Collector for deciding whether a property is a Waqf or not have also been stayed.”

Mahali said the stay on Sections 3 and 4 was a “very welcome step” and expressed hope that the final judgment would be “in favour of Muslims.”

The court also ruled that until adjudication by the tribunal, no third-party rights could be created against any parties.

Welcoming the order, All India Muslim Jamaat National President Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi told IANS, “I welcome and appreciate the Supreme Court’s decision. We had hoped that the apex court would rule considering the welfare of poor, weak, helpless, orphaned, and widowed Muslims.”

“Once implemented, those wealthy individuals who had illegally occupied Waqf lands will be removed, and these lands will be used to build schools, colleges, hospitals, mosques, madrasas and orphanages, and the income from it will be spent on widows and orphans and poor Muslims,” he said.

“Waqf boards had become dens of corruption, which sold the lands for a pittance. Poor and weak Muslims’ rights were destroyed by a few people on the Board. Now, we hope that the Board is used for appropriate purposes. I welcome the Supreme Court’s decision,” Barelvi added.

President of the Indian National League (INL) and founder of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Mohammad Sulaiman, also endorsed the order.

“We had demanded a stay on the Act in its entirety. We do welcome the interim decision, but we hope that this also gets converted to the final decision with a stay on more provisions. Partially, we are satisfied,” he told IANS.

AIMPLB spokesperson Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas said that the order is “satisfactory.”

“Not all our points have been accepted, but some important points have been accepted. This five-year practising Muslim condition has been maintained, which is significant,” Ilyas told IANS.

“This is an interim judgement, but now, a large bench will decide soon. We hope that in that hearing, everything else will be taken into consideration. For now, we are satisfied,” he added.

Maulana Chaudhary Ifraheem Husain also welcomed the development.

Speaking to IANS, he said, “We welcome this decision of the Supreme Court with open arms. This will greatly benefit the poor Muslims. The PM Modi-led Centre had introduced it, but there were several challenges. But now, with the Supreme Court’s order, life will ease for poor and backwards Muslims, whose rights were snatched by a few powerful people.”

“We do not have any problem with any decision of the apex court as it is in favour of the Muslim community,” he added.

IANS