The Congress on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court’s interim order staying key provisions of the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, calling it a “substantial victory” for constitutional values and a direct rebuke to the government’s “mischievous intentions.”

Congress MP and General Secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, hailed the verdict, stating, “The Order is an important one because it goes a long way towards undoing the mischievous intentions underlying the original statute.”

Taking to X, Ramesh wrote, “The Supreme Court’s order today on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 represents a substantial victory not just for the parties that opposed this arbitrary law in Parliament but all those members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee who submitted detailed dissent notes which were then ignored but now stand vindicated.”

The senior Congress leader underlined that the stayed provisions were clearly designed “to keep the voter base inflamed and create an administrative structure to indulge those seeking to foment religious disputes.”

Ramesh added, “We welcome this order as a win for the constitutional values of justice, equality, and fraternity.”

Explaining the Opposition’s argument, he noted that the law would have allowed “anyone and everyone to challenge the status of Waqf property before the Collector, keeping the property in limbo during litigation. Additionally, only a ‘Muslim’ practising for 5 years could donate to a Waqf.”

The Congress leader highlighted that the Supreme Court has:

Stayed the powers of the Collector under the Act.

Protected existing Waqf properties from dubious challenges.

Stayed the provision requiring proof of being a Muslim for five years before donating, until new rules are framed.

Earlier in the day, a bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih made it clear that the court would not suspend the entire Waqf Act, stating that “a statute carries a presumption of constitutionality and can be stayed only in the rarest of cases.”