TN-based lawyer supports Waqf law moves SC

New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) A Chennai-based lawyer has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking to intervene in the ongoing hearing on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
     Advocate H Mohamed Ismail, in his intervention plea, supported the contentious law.
     The petition underscores the socio-economic and secular significance of waqf properties and urges legal and administrative reforms for their better management.
     Ismail said that waqf, as conceptualised in the Holy Quran and Hadith, is inherently secular and not confined to religious purposes.
     "For over 1400 years, waqf has served as a public trust for pious and charitable objectives, primarily aimed at the welfare of humanity," the plea said.
     Referring to the findings of the Sachar Committee Report tabled in Parliament in 2006, the petition highlights the gross underutilisation of waqf assets.
     According to the report, the market value of waqf properties at that time was estimated at Rs1.2 lakh crore, yet they generated a mere Rs 163 crore annually, making it a return of a mere 2.7 per cent.
     The lawyer said with efficient management, the returns could have reached at least 10 per cent, yielding approximately Rs 12,000 crore annually.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)