The government on Thursday assured the Supreme Court there will be “no Waqf appointments… (and) no change in status (of Waqf boards and lands)” till the next hearing of a clutch of petitions challenging the changes to laws governing administration of Muslim charitable properties.
The reference was to changes to the composition of Waqf boards. Specifically, under amendments passed by Parliament this month, these boards must now include non-Muslims as members, a provision criticised by members of the community and opposition parties.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, sought (and was given) a week’s time to respond to challenges to Waqf law changes. In the meantime, he said, the government would not make appointments under Section 9 and 14 of the new law.
These sections limit the number of Muslim members on the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf boards to just eight and four, out of 22 and 11, respectively. And these had drawn sharp observations from the Supreme Court, with Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna asking the Solicitor General if the government would, in turn, allow Muslims to part of Hindu endowment boards.