The Central Government told the Supreme Court that waqf is just a form of charity and is not an essential part of the Islamic religion. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was speaking for the Centre, said that the idea of waqf is actually a secular concept and not something unique to any one religion.

“Waqf is an Islamic concept. But it is not an essential part of Islam… Waqf is nothing but just charity in Islam. Judgements show that charity is part of every religion and can happen for Christianity also. Hindus have a system of daan. Sikhs also have it,” Mehta told the Supreme Court.

His statement came a day after Muslim lawyers presented their side in court. Mehta said some people were spreading “false stories” that the new law would take away waqf properties unfairly. He said the Centre has the legal right to take back land that has been wrongly marked as waqf, especially if it belongs to the government.

Government can take back its land

“There is a Supreme Court judgement which says the government can save the property if it belongs to the government and has been declared as waqf,” Mehta told the bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih.

Mehta also explained that the earlier system of ‘waqf-by-user’ allowed land to become waqf just because it was being used for religious or charity purposes for a long time—even if there were no official papers. This rule is now removed in the new law.

Mehta added, “Waqf by user is not allowed prospectively with three exceptions — it should be registered, private property, and government property.”

He said the new amendments to the Waqf law solved issues that have existed since British times. “We were eradicating the menace that was there since 1923. Every stakeholder was heard. A few petitioners cannot claim to represent the entire Muslim community. We received 96 lakh representations. The JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) had 36 sittings,” he said.

On the same day, Chief Justice BR Gavai said the courts cannot stop laws passed by Parliament unless there is a very serious problem in the law.

“There is a presumption of constitutionality in favour of every statute. For interim relief, you have to make out a very strong and glaring case,” CJI Gavai said to senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, who is fighting the case for those against the law.

The government has requested the court to focus on three main points during the hearing — the waqf-by-user rule, allowing non-Muslims on Waqf Boards, and government land being declared as waqf.

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