Petitions challenging Waqf (Amendment) Act mentioned in SC for urgent listing

A batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 on the grounds of its being violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 14 (right to equality before law), Article 25 (freedom to practice religion), Article 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs), Article 29 (minority rights) and Article 300A (right to property) of the Constitution of India, discriminatory and involves unwarranted interference of the government in Waqf affairs, were mentioned on Monday for an early listing.

President Droupadi Murmu had, on April 5, gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on April 3, and the Rajya Sabha on April 4.

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As senior advocate Kapil Sibal made an oral mentioning for an urgent listing of the petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, heading a bench also comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan, asked him (Sibal) why the oral mentioning is being made when there is a system in place to seek urgent listing by sending an email and asked him move a mentioning letter.

“Why are you mentioning when we have a system in place? Send a letter of urgency and that will be placed before me. I will do the needful. All these requests are placed before me every afternoon,” Chief Justice Khanna told Sibal, who had, along with senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Nizam Pasha, made the oral mention for urgent listing.

When Sibal, appearing for the President of the Islamic cleric’s body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani, said the letter has already been emailed, CJI Khanna said that he would do the needful after examining it in the afternoon.

As of now there are seven petitions before the top court challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The petitioners challenging the  Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 includes Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Mohammad Jawed, who was also the member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee that had examined the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Lok Sabha member, Asaduddin Owais, the Aam Aadmi Party MLA in Delhi assembly, Amanatullah Khan, the President of the Islamic cleric’s body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani, Kerala Sunni scholars’ body Samastha Kerala Jamiat Ulema, Social Democratic Party of India, and the NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR).

The Islamic cleric’s body, Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, in its petition, has said that the amendments to the (Wakf) Act was destructive of wakf administration and jurisprudence in India and an effort to redefine the very nature of waqfs as existing in the country.

Congress leader Mohammad Jawed, in his petition, has said, “The Act discriminates against the Muslim community by imposing restrictions that are not present in the governance of other religious endowments. For instance, while Hindu and Sikh religious trusts continue to enjoy a degree of self-regulation, the amendments to the Wakf Act, 1995, disproportionately increases state intervention in Waqf affairs. Such differential treatment amounts to a violation of Article 14 in addition to introduction of arbitrary classifications that lack a reasonable nexus to the objectives sought to be achieved, making it impermissible under the doctrine of manifest arbitrariness.”

The Congress leader has termed “unwarranted interference” the amendment to the composition of the Waqf Board and the Central Waqf Council that mandates the inclusion of non-Muslim members in Waqf administrative bodies.  On the other hand, the Hindu religious endowments are exclusively managed by Hindus under various state enactments, the Congress leader has said, pointing to the distinction in the management of Muslim endowments and that of the Hindus.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, in his petition, has stated that the amended Act “irreversibly dilute” the statutory protections afforded to Waqfs and their regulatory framework while conferring undue advantage upon other stakeholders and interest groups, undermining years of progress and setting back Waqf management by several decades.

“Amendment Act also takes away from Waqfs various protections which were accorded to Waqfs and Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments alike. This diminishing of the protection given to Waqfs while retaining them for religious and charitable endowments of other religions constitutes hostile discrimination against Muslims and is violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion,” the AIMIM Chief has said in his petition.

Seeking the striking down of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 that was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday and the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Amanatullah Khan, in his petition, has said that the Bill curtails the religious and cultural autonomy of Muslims, enables arbitrary executive interference, and undermines minority rights to manage their religious and charitable institutions.”