India’s Supreme Court has once again underlined that constitutional principles cannot be bent to political convenience. Its interim order on the Waqf (Amendment) Act is more than a narrow legal ruling ~ it is a reminder that the management of religious endowments must remain under the watchful eye of the judiciary, not the fluctuating will of the executive. Waqf properties occupy a unique space in India’s social and economic landscape. These endowments, created as perpetual charitable trusts, sustain mosques, madrassas, graveyards and a wide array of welfare activities. They embody the idea of private faith serving public good. Over the years, however, they have also become vulnerable to encroachments, internal corruption and opaque record-keeping.

Any government would have a legitimate interest in ensuring transparency and preventing misuse of assets worth billions of rupees. The recent amendments were presented as a reform to introduce accountability. But buried in the text were provisions that........

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