Supreme Court directs Centre to file reply in Waqf case: 'No new appointments until next hearing'
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the execution of certain sections of the contentious Waqf Amendment Act. The court directed that no appointments to the Waqf Board or Council will be made until the next hearing which is scheduled on May 5.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India also said that the 'waqf by user' provision should not be denotified till then.
The court took note of the Solicitor General's assurance that no appointments to the Waqf Board or Council will be made until the next hearing. The court also stated that existing Waqf properties, including those registered by the user or declared through notification, will not be identified.
The Solicitor General said that the Waqf Act is a considered piece of legislation and that the Centre has received a large number of representations regarding the classification of land as Waqf. He added that staying the entire Act would be a severe step and sought one week to submit a reply.
The Supreme Court stated that it had earlier noted some aspects of the legislation as positive and reiterated that there can be no complete stay of the Act at this stage. The court also said that it does not want the current status to be altered while the matter is under its consideration.
- With inputs from agencies
