SC refers petitions challenging Waqf Amendment Act 2025 to Justice BR Gavai’s bench
Hearing scheduled for May 15
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed that the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, be listed before a bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai. The decision was announced by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, who noted that Justice Khanna is nearing retirement and the matter requires an early hearing.
The case titled In Re: Waqf Amendment Act was heard by a bench comprising CJI Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar, and Justice K.V. Viswanathan. The CJI stated that although he had reviewed the counter-affidavit filed by the Union government and the rejoinders submitted by the petitioners, he did not wish to reserve judgment at the interim stage. With the consent of all parties, including Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and A.M. Singhvi for the petitioners and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the Union, the matter was reassigned to Justice Gavai’s bench for hearing on May 15.
In previous hearings on April 16 and 17, the bench engaged in detailed discussions. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had raised strong objections to the omission of the ‘waqf by user’ provision, arguing that such waqfs — many centuries old — often lack formal registration documents. Solicitor General Mehta responded that the amendment was prospective and that registered waqf properties would not be affected.
The Court also took note of concerns about the inclusion of non-Muslim members in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards. CJI Khanna pointedly asked whether non-Hindus are similarly included in bodies overseeing Hindu religious endowments. In response to these concerns, the Court suggested interim directions to prevent any significant changes, including a proposal that only Muslims (barring ex-officio members) should serve on the Waqf Boards and Council. It also indicated that court-declared waqf properties should not be denotified during the pendency of the case.
The Union government, through SG Mehta, assured the Court that no fresh appointments would be made to the Waqf bodies and that the status of existing waqf lands would remain unaffected. These assurances were recorded by the Court.
The petitions, supported by a wide array of individuals and organisations including MPs from AIMIM, RJD, SP, TMC, CPI, DMK, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, and others challenge multiple provisions of the Amendment Act.
Meanwhile, BJP-led state governments of Assam, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Maharashtra have filed intervention applications supporting the amendment.
The matter will now be heard on May 15 by the bench led by Justice Gavai.
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11 more bodies retrieved from Arunachal accident site
Itanagar (PTI): Eleven more bodies were retrieved on Saturday from the deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, where a mini-truck on which 22 labourers from Assam were travelling fell, an official said.
With this, 17 bodies have been recovered from the accident site, Anjaw's deputy commissioner Milo Kojin said.
He said three more bodies will be brought out on Sunday.
The operation, being conducted by a joint team of the NDRF and Army, resumed at 6 am.
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"The retrieval process was extremely difficult because of the treacherous terrain, and the gorge is very deep," Kojin said.
The operation was suspended around 4 pm due to low visibility and will be resumed on Sunday morning, he said.
"One person is still missing, and a search operation will be carried out tomorrow," he added.
The accident happened on the evening of December 8, around 40 km from Hayuliang towards Chaglagam in the district. On the evening of December 10, one survivor managed to climb out of the gorge and reach a nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) labour camp, following which the authorities were alerted.
Six bodies were recovered from the gorge on Friday and handed over to their families on Saturday.
