Attempts To Break India-Russia Ties Destined To Fail : Moscow Amid Trump Pressure

15th September 2025 at 12:10 PM

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Amid Donald Trump’s pressure on other countries to impose US-like tariffs on Indian goods for continuing to buy Russian oil, Moscow on Sunday.

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday refused to suspend the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 in its entirety, observing that no case had been made out to justify a blanket stay on the legislation. The bench noted that the Act enjoys the presumption of constitutionality, and therefore, cannot be put on hold as a whole. The court granted protection in respect of specific controversial clauses, making it clear that certain provisions required safeguards pending a final hearing.

Before reserving its interim order, the bench heard arguments over three consecutive days from advocates representing petitioners and Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre. Mehta strongly defended the Act, arguing that waqf is not an essential part of Islam but a “secular concept”. He said that given the presumption of constitutionality, the Act could not be stayed in its entirety.

Five-Year Islam Practice Requirement: The provision requiring a person to be a practitioner of Islam for five years before creating a waqf was put on hold. The court said the rule would remain stayed until a clear mechanism was framed to determine whether someone has indeed practised Islam for that period. The provision empowering a district collector to determine whether a property declared as waqf is government property and to pass binding orders was also stayed. The bench held that a collector cannot be permitted to adjudicate on private citizens’ rights, as this would violate the principle of separation of powers.

The court said that, for now, the Waqf Board may include no more than three non-Muslim members, and the Waqf Councils may have no more than four non-Muslims in total. Over 100 petitioners have challenged the amended law, describing it as a “creeping acquisition” of Muslim properties. They argued that provisions allowing the denotification of properties earlier declared as waqf by courts, by usage, or by deed, could weaken protections for community assets.

Advocate Anas Tanweer, one of the petitioners, told ANI, “The Supreme Court has found a prima facie case for stay on certain provisions. They have not stayed the complete Act, but provisions such as the five-year Muslim requirement have been stayed because there is no mechanism to determine this. On non-Muslim members, the court has limited the number to three in the Waqf Board and four in the Councils. On registration, the court has extended the time limit but has not stayed the provision,” he added.