New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the provision in the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, which abolished the concept of 'Waqf-by-user', and said prima facie deletion of the provision in the amendment "cannot be said to be arbitrary."

"If the legislature, in 2025, finds that on account of the concept of Waqf-by-User, huge government properties have been encroached upon and to stop the said menace, it takes steps for deletion of the said provision, the said amendment, prima facie, cannot be said to be arbitrary," it said.

Waqf-by-user is a concept that recognises a property as Waqf not through a formal dedication deed but through long, consistent public use of the property for a religious or pious purpose. By the 2...