The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has announced renewed protests against the Waqf Amendment Act. This decision follows an interim ruling by the Supreme Court regarding the amendment. The Personal Law Board has expressed dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court’s interim decision.
The Muslim Personal Law Board has declared a sit-in and the giving of arrests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on September 24th. The Board has also appealed to Muslims, urging them to close their offices and shops from 8 am to 2 pm on September 26th.
Further, the Board has urged Muslims to display banners reading, “We do not accept the Waqf Amendment Act.” A major rally by the Board will be held at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 16th. The Board will also gherao the Governor’s House in various states. Appeals have been issued across the country for Muslims to protest. The Board will march to Rashtrapati Bhavan against the Waqf Amendment Act. However, the date of the march has not yet been announced.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act-2025 came into effect after being passed by Parliament and approved by the President. However, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court against the Waqf Act. The court recently issued an interim decision on this. The CJI stated that there is no basis to stay the entire Waqf (Amendment) Act. However, a stay has been imposed on some provisions.
In fact, a two-judge bench led by CJI BR Gavai imposed this stay during the hearing of a total of 5 petitions filed against the Waqf Act, pending a final decision.
The Waqf law provides that only a person who has followed Islam for 5 years can donate property as Waqf. This is provided for in Section 3 (r) of the law. The court has stayed this. This stay will remain in effect until the states enact a law to examine whether a person is Muslim or not.
The court has also stayed the provision made in Section 3C of the Waqf (Amendment) Act-2025. It states that no property will be considered Waqf unless a collector reports that no encroachment is included in the Waqf declaration.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 provides that non-Muslims will also be included in the 11 members of the Waqf Board. The Supreme Court has ruled that no more than three non-Muslim members can be included in the Waqf Board. However, the court has not imposed any stay on Section 23 of the Waqf Act. This section of the law provides for the appointment of ex-officio members (CEOs) of the Waqf Boards. The court has also said that as far as possible, a Muslim should be appointed to this post.
