Asaduddin Owaisi petitions SC challenging amendments to the Waqf Act

New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Akbaruddin Owaisi has moved the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

In his petition, Owaisi claimed that ‘waqfs’, including their establishment, management, and administration, which form an integral aspect of the practice of Islam, are entitled to constitutional protection under various provisions of the Constitution of India.

"The impugned amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995 are ex facie violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 300A of the Constitution of India and are manifestly arbitrary," stated the petition filed by advocate Lzafeer Ahmad B.F..

It added that the amendment takes away from waqfs various protections which were accorded to waqfs and Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments alike.

Congress MP and party whip in Lok Sabha Mohammad Jawed has also moved a similar plea before the Supreme Court challenging the provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025. Mohammad Jawed, the MP from Bihar's Kishanganj and a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, contended that the proposed legislation violates Articles 14 (right to equality), 25 (freedom to practice and propagate religion), 26 (freedom of religious denominations to manage their religious affairs), 29 (minority rights) and 300A (right to property) of the Constitution.

Owaisi, on Wednesday, had cited Mahatma Gandhi's protest against discriminatory South African laws while dramatically tearing a copy of the legislation in the Lok Sabha, stating: "Like Gandhi, I am also tearing up this law."

The AIMIM chief said that the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha will be remembered as a 'Black Day' and the proposed legislation is unconstitutional.

The Parliament passed the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha early on Friday morning. The Lok Sabha approved the Bill after nearly 12 hours of debate on Thursday, with 288 votes in favour and 232 against.

After being passed in both houses of Parliament, the proposed legislation will now be sent for the President's assent before it becomes a law amending the 1995 law governing Waqf properties. The NDA government, which is projecting the Waqf Amendment Bill as one of the milestone decisions in the first year of Modi 3.0, is expected to notify it for implementation, soon after getting the President’s nod.

The concept of ‘Waqf’, rooted in Islamic laws and traditions, refers to an endowment made by a Muslim for charitable or religious purposes, such as mosques, schools, hospitals, or other public institutions.

--IANS

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