MMK Chief slams Indian Supreme Court’s interim verdict on Waqf Amendment Act
Chennai: The President of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK), MLA Prof. M.H. Jawahirullah, has criticized the Indian Supreme Court’s interim judgment on the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, calling it a verdict that endorses harmful amendments while failing to provide complete constitutional protection.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Prof. Jawahirullah, in a press statement, said the BJP government had introduced 44 formal amendments to the Waqf Act in Parliament—comprising 33 insertions, 45 substitutions, and 37 deletions, amounting to a total of 115 changes. Yet, he argued, the apex court has selectively stayed only a few provisions, leaving most “regressive and unconstitutional” amendments untouched.
Expressing concern over non-Muslim representation, the MMK chief strongly objected to the court’s ruling that allows up to four non-Muslims in the 22-member Central Waqf Council and up to three non-Muslims in the 11-member State Waqf Boards. “If outsiders to the Hindu or Sikh faiths cannot serve on their respective boards, mandating non-Muslims on Waqf Boards is discriminatory,” he said.
Prof. Jawahirullah also highlighted that the court failed to address the deletion of three critical provisions from the original Act:
Section 104 – which allowed non-Muslims to create Waqf.
Section 107 – which exempted recovery of encroached Waqf properties from the Limitation Act, 1963.
Section 108 – concerning special provisions for evacuee Waqf properties.
“The failure to reinstate Sections 107 and 108 indirectly facilitates hostile state governments in seizing Waqf properties,” he cautioned.
Calling the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 a deliberate conspiracy to weaken and usurp Waqf properties, Prof. Jawahirullah demanded its full repeal and the reinstatement of the Waqf Act 2013.
