New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday a clutch of ten petitions, including the one of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, against the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The pleas would be heard by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan. As per the causelist uploaded on apex court’s website, 10 petitions have been listed so far on the issue.
The bench, in addition to Owaisi's plea, would also hear pleas 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 have not been listed so far, were filed in the apex court 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. 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.
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 the fundamental rights of non-Muslims.
On April 8, the Centre had filed a caveat in the top 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 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. The bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
