New Delhi, May 16 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the petitions challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 to be heard on May 20 to decide on the issue whether any interim stay is required on operation of certain provisions of the law dealing with status of Waqf properties and inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf Council and Boards. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai directed the petitions to be listed on Tuesday. The CJI took up the matter for the first time after former CJI Sanjiv Khanna on May 5 expressed his discinclination to continue hearing the case due to his impending retirement. The bench, also comprising justice Augustine George Masih, said that on the next date of hearing, it will hear the petitioners who have challenged the 2025 Act for two hours and the Union government led by solicitor general Tushar Mehta for another two hours to decide on the limited issue of whether any interim order with regard to a stay is required. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 on April 5 , days after it was passed by Parliament after heated debates in both Houses. It scraps the waqf by user provision - where a property is acknowledged as waqf because it has been used for religious activities for some time, despite there being no official declaration or registration as waqf - for future cases, permits women, Shia sects and government officials to be members of waqf bodies, and gives overriding power to senior officials to determine if a government property belongs to a waqf. On April 17, the top court recorded an assurance by the Centre that it will not de-notify Waqf properties, including Waqf-by-user and will not make any appointments to the central Waqf council and Waqf boards. Meanwhile, another set of petitioners who have challenged the earlier Waqf Act of 1995 (now replaced by the 2025 Act) also sought an urgent hearing. "We will not consider any request to hear a challenge against provisions of 1995 Act. How can we allow a challenge to 1995 Act when we are considering the 2025 Act," SC said....