- By Nidhi Giri
- Wed, 21 May 2025 01:40 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it is legally empowered to reclaim properties which are declared waqf by using the waqf by user principle, adding that nobody can claim right over government land. Waqf by user refers to properties that have long been used as waqf property, even if there is no written waqf deed or formal documentation. Such properties are considered waqf based on long-standing use.
The matter was heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih.
“Nobody has the right over government land,” said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, responding to the submissions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
“There is a Supreme Court judgment which says the government can save the property if it belongs to the government and has been declared as waqf,” he said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
At the outset, the law officer said no affected parties have moved the court and “it is nobody's case that Parliament does not have the competence to pass this legislation.”
He referred to the report of the joint parliamentary committee and the fact that many state governments and state waqf boards were consulted before the Act came into being.
The bench sought response from the Centre on the pleas of the petitioners that an officer above the rank of the district collector can decide the claim over waqf properties on the grounds that they are of government.
“This is not just misleading but a false argument,” the law officer said.
(With PTI Inputs)
