New Delhi, April 10 (IANS): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a series of petitions next week challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjeev Khanna and comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan is listed to take up the matter on April 16, according to the apex court’s cause list.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which introduces recent amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995, has faced significant legal challenges.
The Hindu Sena has filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court, supporting the amendments. The organization’s National President argued that the amendments do not violate the rights of the Muslim community. Instead, they contend that the original Waqf Act of 1995 prejudiced the rights of non-Muslims, as Section 3 read with Section 40 allowed for the takeover of non-Muslim properties by Waqf boards. The Hindu Sena asserts that the amendments will provide justice to non-Muslims whose properties were wrongly taken or claimed as Waqf properties.
The Congress party has announced its intention to challenge the legislation, arguing that it attacks the basic structure of the Constitution and aims to “polarise” and “divide” the country along religious lines. Conversely, the government maintains that the legislation will benefit millions of impoverished Muslims and does not harm any individual Muslim. Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has stated that the legislation does not interfere with Waqf properties and that the government is committed to the principle of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ (development for all).
Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, in his petition to the Supreme Court, argues that the amendments violate Articles 14 (right to equality), 25 (freedom to practice and propagate religion), 26 (freedom of religious denominations to manage their religious affairs), 29 (minority rights), and 300A (right to property) of the Constitution.
Similarly, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has also petitioned the Supreme Court, claiming that the amendments are “ex facie violative” of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, and 300A of the Constitution and are “manifestly arbitrary.”
Other petitioners challenging the Act’s constitutional validity include the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, AAP leader Amanatullah Khan, Maulana Arshad Madani of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Indian Union Muslim League, Taiyyab Khan Salmani, and Anjum Kadari.
The concept of ‘Waqf’, which has its roots in Islamic laws and traditions, refers to an endowment made by a Muslim for charitable or religious purposes, such as mosques, schools, hospitals, and other public institutions. The Supreme Court’s upcoming hearing will be crucial in determining the future of this legislation and its implications for the management of Waqf properties in India.
