The Supreme Court will hear the petitions filed against the Waqf Act today. A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar will hear arguments on the petitions filed against and in support of the Waqf Board from 2 pm.
Even though 10 petitions have been listed in the bench headed by the CJI, more than 70 petitions have been filed against the Waqf Act, including religious institutions, MPs, political parties, states.
However, 7 states including Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Assam have filed a petition in the Supreme Court arguing that the constitutional validity of the Waqf Board Amendment Act 2025 should be maintained.
In fact, the Waqf Board Amendment Bill passed by the Parliament on April 4 got the President’s approval on April 5. The government issued a notification for the implementation of the Act from April 8. Since then it is being continuously opposed.
10 petitions and arguments given in them
The ten petitions to be heard in the Supreme Court have been filed by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Delhi AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Arshad Madani, All Kerala Jamiatul Ulema, Anjum Qadri, Tayyab Khan Salmani, Mohammad Shafi, Mohammad Fazlurrahim and RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha.
Waqf Act 1995 challenged
Apart from 70 petitions, advocate Hari Shankar Jain has filed a writ petition challenging the Waqf Act 1995. It states that it is discriminatory towards non-Muslims. The petition alleges that some provisions of the Act allow members of the Muslim community to illegally occupy government land and Hindu religious properties.
It has also been argued that the current structure of the Waqf Act also gives unfair advantage to Muslims and endangers the religious and property rights of Hindus.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has started a ‘Waqf Bachao Abhiyan’ against the law. Its first phase will start from April 11 and will continue till July 7 i.e. for 87 days. Also, 1 crore signatures will be collected in protest against the Waqf law, which will be sent to PM Modi. After this, the strategy for the next phase will be decided.