The Supreme Court has paid great attention to the analogy drawn by the Narendra Modi government to support the inclusion of non-Muslims in the WAQF committee and the argument that by that logic, benches of Hindu judges should not hear pleas relating to WAQF.
According to a report from PTI, the top coat bench made up of India’s Supreme Court Justice (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Judge KV Viswanathan had questioned the provisions of the WAQF (Amendment) Act of 2025.
“Do you suggest that minorities, including Muslims, should also be included in the committee governing the Hindu religious system? Please openly state,” PTI cited CJI as saying.
SC hearing about WAQF ACT live update
Lawyer (SG) Tushar Mehta. While appearing at the centre, he defended the clause and emphasized that the inclusion of non-Muslim members is limited and does not affect the composition of these bodies primarily Muslims.
Mehta also argued that objections to non-Muslim participation could logically extend to justice fairness, which would disqualify the bench itself from hearing the issue, the PTI report added.
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“If the statutory committee accepts objections to the existence of non-Muslims, the current bench will not be able to hear the issue either, and your lord will not be able to hear the issue if he uses that logic,” Meta told the bench.
The CJI said, “No, sorry, but Mr. Mehta, we’re not talking about a ruling. We’re sitting here and losing religion. We’re absolutely secular.
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The Supreme Court proposes to maintain important provisions of the WAQF Act
The Supreme Court proposed to maintain certain key provisions of the controversial WAQF (Amendment) Act of 2025.
The top court proposed passing an order that the Centre opposed, as it sought a detailed hearing prior to such an interim order.
