NGO APCR moves SC challenging constitutional validity of Waqf bill
New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI): An NGO has moved the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
Association for the Protection of Civil Rights said its plea challenges the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which is to be renamed as the Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Bill, 2025 (UMEED Bill).
"The bill directly violates Articles 14, 25, 26, and 300A of the Constitution, along with the preambular values that constitute the bedrock of our democratic and secular framework," it said in its plea filed through Adeel Ahmed.
It said the drastic overhaul proposed by the UMEED Bill is not only unnecessary but also an alarming interference into the religious affairs of the Muslim community, diluting the fundamental purpose of Waqf which is a practice deeply rooted in Quranic references and the Hadith since the time of Prophet Mohammad.
"The bill, hastily passed by the Lok Sabha on April 3, 2025 and the Rajya Sabha on April 4, 2025, is now on the brink of receiving Presidential assent. However, its provisions pose a grave danger to the autonomy and effectiveness of the Waqf Board, particularly through the insertion of Section 40, which severely undermines the principles of natural justice enshrined in the parent Act," it said.
The NGO further submitted that the unjustified omission of provision, which upholds the Waqf by User doctrine, constitutes a deliberate weakening of the legal recognition granted to Waqf properties.
It said the removal of this provision, therefore, represents an attempt to erode the foundational principles protecting Waqf properties and disrupts the delicate balance between religious autonomy and state oversight.
"That the petitioner humbly submits that the UMEED Bill, 2025, is an unconstitutional and unjustified legislative overreach that must be struck down in the interest of upholding the fundamental rights, Individual freedom and religious autonomy guaranteed under the Constitution of India," it said.
Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan have also moved the apex court challenging the validity of the bill.
Several petitions have been filed since Parliament passed the bill on Friday.
In his plea, Khan sought that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill be declared as "unconstitutional and being violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30 and 300-A of the Constitution" and sought direction for striking it down.
Jawed's plea alleged the bill imposed "arbitrary restrictions" on Waqf properties and their management, undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community.
The petition, filed through advocate Anas Tanwir, said the proposed law discriminated against the Muslim community by "imposing restrictions that are not present in the governance of other religious endowments".
The Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was passed in Lok Sabha with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
Jawed, a Lok Sabha member from Kishanganj in Bihar, was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the bill and has alleged in his plea that the bill "introduces restrictions on the creation of Waqfs based on the duration of one's religious practice".
"Such a limitation is unfounded in Islamic law, custom or precedent and infringes upon the fundamental right to profess and practice religion under Article 25," it said.
In his separate plea, Owaisi said the bill takes away from Waqfs various protection which are accorded to Waqfs and Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments alike.
Owaisi's plea, filed by advocate Lzafeer Ahmad, said, "This diminishing of the protection given to Waqfs while retaining them for religious and charitable endowments of other religions constitutes hostile discrimination against Muslims and is violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion."
The plea argued the amendments "irreversibly dilute" the statutory protection afforded to Waqfs and their regulatory framework while giving "undue advantage" to other stakeholders and interest groups, undermining years of progress and pushing back Waqf management by several decades.
"Appointing non-Muslims on the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards disturbs this delicate constitutional balance and tilts it to the detriment of the right of Muslims as a religious group to remain in control of their Waqf properties," Owaisi said.
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AIADMK, BJP join hands for 2026 TN polls: EPS to lead charge, says Amit Shah
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Chennai (PTI): The BJP and AIADMK on Friday sealed a poll alliance, with Union Minister Amit Shah declaring that the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election will be fought under the leadership of AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.
With the parties rekindling their alliance nearly two years after they parted ways, Shah said it will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership at the Centre and Palaniswami at the state level.
"AIADMK and BJP have decided to fight next (year's) polls...from 1998, AIADMK has been part of BJP alliance (at different points of time). PM Modi and late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had worked for Centre-state ties," Shah told a press conference, flanked by Palaniswami and outgoing BJP TN chief K Annamalai, here.
"We will form a government together led by Edappadi Palaniswami," he said, indicating it would be a coalition government should the NDA win.
He exuded confidence that the NDA will get a solid mandate and form a government.
On AIADMK's divergent stand on certain issues, Shah said will sit and discuss. There will be a Common Minimum Programme if required.
He also slammed the ruling DMK in the state, alleging it was raking up issues like Sanatan Dharma, 3-language policy and delimitation with the sole intention to take attention away from key issues.
People were demanding answers from the ruling dispensation over a number of 'scams,' and they would vote on genuine issues, Shah said.
