A general view of the Supreme Court of India.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
The Supreme Court on Monday (April 7, 2025) agreed to consider listing petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, for urgent hearing.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, that the petitions needed to be listed for urgent hearing.
CJI Khanna tells them requests for urgent hearing would be placed before him in the afternoon in his chambers for assignation to Benches. “Why do you mention when there is a system in place?” CJI Khanna asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who made the oral mentioning.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was earlier passed by Parliament after heated debates in both Houses.
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Several petitions, including one by Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, have been filed in the apex court challenging the validity of the Act. In its petition, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has said that this law was a “direct attack on the country’s Constitution, which not only provides equal rights to its citizens but also grants them complete religious freedom”.
“This bill is a dangerous conspiracy to strip Muslims of their religious freedom. Therefore, we have challenged the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, in the Supreme Court, and the state units of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind will also challenge the constitutional validity of this law in the high courts of their respective states,” the Jamiat stated.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – April 07, 2025 11:42 am IST