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Hours after the Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025, two petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the bill. The Waqf bill makes several changes to the 1995 Act governing Waqfs.
The first petition was filed by Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, contending that the law violates Constitutional rights guaranteed under Articles 14 (right to equality), 25 (freedom to practice religion), 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs), 29 (minority rights) and 300A (right to property). All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi has filed the second petition, terming the proposed law a "brazen violation" of the fundamental rights of Muslims and the Muslim community.
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What does the petitioner say in his petition against Waqf Bill?
In the petition, Jawed claims that the Act discriminates against the Muslim community by imposing restrictions. The petitioner argues that the Amendment allows state interference in the administration of waqfs. It shifts key administrative functions, such as the power to determine the nature of Waqf properties, from the Waqf Board to the District Collector. This transfer of control from religious institutions to government officials dilutes the autonomy of Waqf management and contravenes Article 26(d) of the Constitution, the plea states. The petitioner also took objection to the provisions allowing the inclusion of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Board. The petitioner also questions the condition in the Bill that one should be a practitioner of Islam for at least five years to create a Waqf, saying that such a limitation "infringes upon the fundamental right to profess and practice religion under Article 25."
What is Waqf Amendment Bill?
The bill seeks to manage waqf properties better, empower stakeholders involved, and make it possible to do an efficient survey of the properties. As per the bill, only lawful property owners can create waqf. In the case of 'waqf alal aulad', wherein the ancestral property is given as waqf, the inheritance rights of heirs, including females, should not be affected, as per the provisions of the bill.
It also makes it mandatory to register waqf properties online, for which a portal will be created. The current time given for registration is six months, but extensions can be taken by approaching the Waqf Tribunals. Another key area addressed by the bill is the wrongful declaration of properties as waqf, including government property. In such disputes, a state government officer will conduct an inquiry. The inspection of Waqf records will now come under section 75 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, the replacement of the erstwhile Evidence Act.
In case the government acquires waqf properties for development or infrastructure projects, the compensation will be given under the 2013 law on compensation, or any other law relating to the acquisition of land.
(With inputs from agencies)