Tells SC reforms introduced serve objectives of transparency
New Delhi: The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, respects the essential religious practices of the Muslims by leaving matters of faith and worship “untouched”, the Centre on Friday informed the Supreme Court.
In a preliminary affidavit filed in the apex court, the government said the reforms introduced serve compelling objectives of transparency, accountability, social welfare and inclusive governance, which are in harmony with the values of the Constitution and public interest.
Seeking dismissal of pleas challenging the validity of the Act, the Centre called the amended law a “constitutionally valid” enactment that “formalised, harmonised and modernized” the pre-existing waqf regime with the fundamental rights to freedom of religion under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.
The 2025 Act, it said, was passed with the objective of modernising the management of waqf properties in India through transparent, efficient and inclusive measures.
“Act respects the essential religious practices of the Muslim community by leaving matters of faith and worship untouched, while legitimately regulating the secular, administrative facets of waqf management as authorised by the Constitution,” the affidavit said.
The reforms are directed solely at the secular and administrative aspects of waqf institutions, such as property management, record-keeping, and governance structures, without impinging upon any essential religious practices or tenets of the Islamic faith, it added.
Articles 25 and 26, the affidavit said, established a balance between an individual’s or denomination’s right to religious freedom and the state’s authority to enact social welfare and regulatory measures.
“The reforms introduced are directed at the secular and administrative aspects which may at best be connected with religious beliefs and not beliefs themselves,” it said.
The amended law, it highlighted, left “wholly untouched” how to create a waqf, for what purpose a waqf had to be created and how the waqf had to function internally. The government also called creation, management and operation of endowments “a purely secular exercise”.
“Not every activity or custom vaguely related to religion is afforded constitutional protection – only those practices that are fundamental or essential to the religion fall within the protective ambit of Articles 25 and 26,” it said.
The affidavit said managing a large number of waqf properties across India – which included land, buildings, and financial assets dedicated to charitable and religious causes –involved significant secular activities like maintaining accurate records, preventing misappropriation and ensuring income was used for the intended charitable purposes.
There were waqfs for orphans, waqfs for hospitals and health care facilities, waqf for educational institutions, waqf for scholarships, waqf for support of the poor and needy through various programmes, it added.
“In the emerging world scenario, various innovative forms of waqfs have also emerged such as cash waqfs, corporate waqfs and waqfs sukuk (Islamic bonds),” it said. The Centre said the concept of waqf, therefore, was distinguishable from mere religious denominations or places of worship.
