Supreme Court to hear Waqf law challenge on April 16

A protest in Manipur’s Thoubal on against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 on April 8, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 have been listed for hearing on April 16, 2025.

The case is listed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.

The Centre has already filed a caveat in the Supreme Court to ensure no order is passed without hearing it first.

A government notification said the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 had already come into force earlier this week.

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“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of Section 1 of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (14 of 2025), the Central government hereby appoints the 8th day of April, 2025 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” the Ministry of Minority Affairs notification has said.

Over 10 petitions, including those by politicians and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, were filed in the top court challenging the validity of the new law.

‘Arbitrary curbs’

The petitioners have argued that the provisions of the 2025 amendments imposed “arbitrary restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, thereby undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community”.

“The amendments undermine property rights protected under Article 300A. By expanding state control over Waqf assets, limiting the ability of individuals to dedicate property for religious purposes, and subjecting Waqf properties to heightened scrutiny, the Act goes against the Supreme Court’s judgment that transferring control of religious property to secular authorities is an infringement of religious and property rights,” they have contended.

The petitioners have submitted that the provisions of the law discriminated against Muslims by imposing restrictions which were not part of the governance of other religious endowments.

The Act violated Article 14 (right to equality), a Basic Feature of the Constitution, the petitioners have argued.