NEW DELHI, April 16: The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed deep concern over reports of violence during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan, emphasized that such unrest should not occur once the matter is sub judice.
“One thing that is very disturbing is the violence which is taking place. Once the matter is before court, it should not happen,” remarked CJI Khanna during the hearing.
The bench scheduled further hearing on the constitutional challenge to the Waqf (Amendment) Act for Thursday at 2 p.m. The court also indicated that it may pass an interim order to ensure properties already declared as waqf by court order or otherwise are not denotified due to the new amendments.
The bench also proposed that the provision in the amended Act, which stipulates that a waqf property would not be treated as waqf while a Collector is conducting an inquiry on whether it is government land, should not be enforced.
Furthermore, the bench intends to pass an interim order stating that all members of the waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council, except ex-officio members, should be Muslims.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, opposed the interim order. He requested that the court first hear the government’s arguments, promising a reply within two weeks if a notice is issued. He also suggested that the matter be heard on a day-to-day basis.
At the outset, the bench asked both sides to address two key points: whether the Supreme Court should entertain the writ petitions directly or refer them to High Courts, and what the petitioners intended to argue.
Multiple petitions have been filed challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which was passed by Parliament in early April and has since received Presidential assent.
Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, in his petition, argued that the amendments violate several fundamental rights, including Articles 14 (equality), 25 (freedom of religion), 26 (religious denominations’ rights), 29 (minority rights), and 300A (property rights).
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi filed a separate petition, calling the amendments “manifestly arbitrary” and in violation of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, and 300A of the Constitution.
Other petitioners include the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, AAP leader Amanatullah Khan, Maulana Arshad Madani (Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind), All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Indian Union Muslim League, Taiyyab Khan Salmani, and Anjum Kadari.
In response to calls for a stay on the Act’s implementation, the Union government filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, requesting to be heard before any order is passed on these pleas.
Several BJP-ruled states, including Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Assam, and Uttarakhand, have also approached the Supreme Court to support and defend the amendments.
The concept of ‘Waqf’—an Islamic endowment for religious or charitable purposes—includes institutions such as mosques, schools, and hospitals. The amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995, have become a focal point of national legal and political debate.
