Supreme Court to hear pleas against Waqf Amendment Act today

NEW DELHI, April 15: The Supreme Court would likely hear on Wednesday a batch of petitions, including the one of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, against the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, so far, listed 10 petitions on the issue.
In addition to Owaisi’s plea, the court listed for hearing the petitions filed by AAP leader Amanatullah Khan, Association for the Protection of Civil Rights, Arshad Madani, Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, Anjum Kadari, Taiyyab Khan Salmani, Mohammad Shafi, Mohammed Fazlurrahim and RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha.
Several fresh pleas, which are yet to be listed, were filed in the top court subsequently including the ones filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia-ur-Rahman Barq.
The YSRCP-led by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Communist Party of India (CPI), Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief and actor-turned-politician Vijay have also moved the top court on the issue.
Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and one Mani Munjal have also filed a separate petition challenging the constitutional validity of several provisions of the law on the ground that they violate fundamental rights of non-Muslims following which the CJI agreed to list it.
The Centre, on April 8, filed a caveat in the apex court and sought a hearing before any order was passed in the matter.
A caveat is filed by a party in the high courts and the apex court to ensure that no orders are passed without hearing it.
The Centre recently notified the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which got the assent of President Droupadi Murmu on April 5 after its passage from Parliament following heated debates in both houses.The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed are other key petitioners.
UTTARAKHAND WAQF BOARD MOVES SC TO DEFEND WAQF AMENDMENT ACT
The Uttarakhand Waqf Board, which has been supporting the Waqf (Amendment) Act, has submitted an application in the Supreme Court seeking permission to intervene in a writ petition filed by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi challenging the constitutional validity of the law.
The intervention application with an affidavit was filed in the apex court on behalf of the Board on Monday to defend the Act passed by Parliament recently, a Waqf Board source said.Entrusted with the administration and management of Waqf properties in the state, the Uttarakhand Waqf Board is an important and necessary party having a stake in the matter, the Board said in its application. (PTI)