Supreme Court to consider plea against Waqf Amendment Act in due course

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would take up the petitions filed challenging validity of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025 in due course.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Vishwanathan made the clarification on urgent mentioning made by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi, appearing for some of the petitioners.

"There is a robust system of listing petitions and the matter would come up in due course," the bench said.

A batch of petitions have already been assailing the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which got the assent of President Droupadi Murmu on April 5.

Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, and AAP MLA in Delhi Amanatullah Khan have filed their own petitions.

Organisations like Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama have also filed writ petitions in the top court.

The Act replaced waqf in Waqf Act, 1995, as "Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995" (UWMEED Act 1995). 

The petitioners claimed the Act was a dangerous conspiracy to strip Muslims of their religious freedom. 

The amendment would also distort the religious character of Waqfs while also irreversibly damaging the democratic process in the administration of Waqf and Waqf Boards, they contended.

Their plea also sought a direction from the apex court to declare the Act as unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, and 300-A of the Constitution. It sought a mandamus restraining the respondents Union Government and Law and Justice Ministry from enforcing or operationalising its provisions.

On Monday too, NGO All India Muslim Personal Law Board and political party DMK, through its deputy general secretary A Raja filed their respective petitions.

The plea of DMK settled by senior advocate P Wilson claimed the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, notified on April 06, 2025, gravely affected fundamental rights of the Muslim minority community and the immediate implementation of the Act infringed and prejudiced the rights of about 50 lakh Muslims in Tamil Nadu and 20 crore Muslims in the other parts of the country.

Other petitioners claimed the Act violated rights enshrined under Article 14 (Right to equality), 25 (Freedom to practice religion), 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs), 29 (Minority rights) and 300A (Right to property) of the Constitution.

The Act imposed arbitrary restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, thereby undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community. It also discriminated against the Muslim community by imposing restrictions that are not present in the governance of other religious endowments, petitioners contended.

They were also aggrieved with the restrictions on the creation of Waqfs based on the duration of one's religious practice and omissions of the concept of Waqf-by-User.