The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed an order issued by the Madras High Court that restrained the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board from functioning for failing to nominate two non-Muslim members, The Hindu reported.
In an order passed on January 8, the High Court held that the statutory requirement of nominating a Bar Council member and a person with professional experience had not been followed, Live Law reported.
A waqf is an endowment under Islamic law dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property.
The 2025 Waqf Amendment Act amended Section 14 of the 1995 Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act. This mandated that two of the total members of waqf boards be non-Muslims. It also mandated the nomination of a Bar Council member.
On Thursday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was hearing a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board, Bar and Bench reported.
“Of course, the High Court is wrong,” Bar and Bench quoted the chief justice as saying. “Madras High Court order rendering the board defunct is stayed. Doctrine of necessity has to function.”
The doctrine of necessity is a legal principle that justifies certain actions under extraordinary situations.
During Thursday’s hearing, Advocate P Wilson, representing the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board had submitted before the Supreme that eight members had already been appointed to the board.
He added that only three more were yet to be nominated. “High Court says with this, the board cannot function,” Wilson was quoted as saying.
The Supreme Court then directed that it be informed about the remaining appointments on the next date of the hearing.
2025 Waqf Amendment Act
In 2024, the Waqf Amendment Bill proposed amendments to 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act, including allowing non-Muslims on waqf boards, restricting property donations and changing how waqf tribunals function. The bill was cleared by Parliament on April 4.
Ahead of its clearance in Parliament, the draft legislation was referred to the joint parliamentary committee in August 2024 after objections from the Opposition.
In January 2025, the committee had cleared the bill after accepting proposals by members of the ruling National Democratic Alliance. Amendments proposed by Opposition MPs were rejected.
The committee then adopted the revised 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill after a vote, with 15 votes in favour of its draft report and 11 against.
Critics had said that the Waqf Amendment Act discriminated against Muslims and interfered with waqf property management. The Centre, however, defended the law, saying it aimed to prevent misuse of waqf provisions to encroach on public and private
A set of petitions challenging the Waqf Amendment Act was also filed in the Supreme Court.
In September, the Supreme Court said that no case had been made to stay the entire amendment. However, several provisions, including one that requires a person creating a waqf to have been a practising Muslim for at least five years, were put on hold.
It also said that the number of non-Muslim members in the Central Waqf Council cannot exceed four, while state waqf boards cannot have more than three non-Muslim members, the court added.
The Central Waqf Council has 22 members, while state waqf boards have 11 members.
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