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The Supreme Court has said it may stay parts of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2024, including provisions allowing non-Muslims on waqf boards and the denotification of court-declared waqf properties. A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna did not issue an order to this effect but said it would hear the matter again on Thursday.

The bench verbally observed that it was considering passing an interim order to “balance equities”. The court is hearing petitions challenging the law, which came into force on April 8. The bench also asked if the Centre would now allow Muslims on Hindu temple boards and expressed concern over violent protests against the law that have broken out in parts of the country.

In West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, three people died when protests against the law turned violent on April 8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended the law, alleging that waqf land was misused by the “land mafia” and that Muslim youths would not have to “fix punctures” if waqf properties had been used for the benefit of the community. Read on.

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has recommended Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as his successor. Khanna will retire on May 13. He was appointed chief justice in November.

Gavai, the second-most senior judge in the Supreme Court, will become the 52nd chief justice if the Union government approves the recommendation. He is expected to serve a six-month term before retiring on November 23. Read on.

Twenty-one police personnel were injured and three police vehicles damaged in clashes on Tuesday night during the demolition of an unauthorised dargah in Maharashtra’s Nashik city. Violence broke out near the Satpeer Baba Dargah in the Kathe Galli area after the Nashik civic body, acting on a Bombay High Court order, began razing the structure.

A mob reportedly gathered near Usmania Chowk at around 11.30 pm and began throwing stones. Police used lathis and tear gas to disperse them. Officials said the dargah was demolished on Wednesday morning and that 15 people have been detained.

The municipal authorities had earlier issued a 15-day notice. Hindutva groups have demanded that the dargah be removed entirely, calling it unauthorised. Read on.

The Supreme Court has directed the Telangana government to submit a restoration plan for 100 acres of forest land in Hyderabad’s Kancha Gachibowli area, where trees were recently felled. The bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih also imposed a blanket status quo on tree-felling in the wider 400-acre zone near the University of Hyderabad.

The state had earlier proposed auctioning the land for IT parks, triggering protests. The court, which took suo motu cognisance of the issue earlier this month, questioned the lack of environmental clearances for the proposed project and asked the state to clarify how it intended to protect wildlife in the area. It warned of “severe action” unless restoration plans were submitted and listed the matter for May 15. Read on.

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