TMC MP Mahua Moitra moves SC challenging Waqf (Amendment) Act
New Delhi (PTI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has also approached the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
Meanwhile, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan has listed for hearing on April 16 ten other petitions, including the one filed by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, challenging the validity of the law.
Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia-ur-Rahman Barq, had recently also filed a plea on the issue in the apex court.
Moitra, who filed her plea on April 9, has said the controversial amendment not only suffered from serious procedural lapses but also violated several fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
“It is submitted that the violation of parliamentary practices during the law-making process has contributed to the unconstitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025,” the plea said.
“Procedurally, the Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee flouted parliamentary rules and practices both at the stage of consideration and adoption of the draft report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill and at the stage of presentation of the said report before Parliament,” it said.
The plea said that dissenting opinions from the opposition MPs were reportedly redacted without justification from the final report presented in Parliament on February 13, 2025.
Such actions undermined the deliberative process of Parliament and violated established norms as outlined in authoritative parliamentary procedure manuals, it said.
The plea said the new law allegedly infringed upon Articles 14 (equality before the law), 15(1) (non-discrimination), 19(1)(a) and (c) (freedom of speech and association), 21 (right to life and personal liberty), 25 and 26 (freedom of religion), 29 and 30 (minority rights), and Article 300A (right to property) of the Constitution.
Moitra sought striking down of the Act in its entirety, citing its procedural irregularities and substantive violations of the Constitution.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, 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 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) and Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed are other key petitioners in the case.
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Pope Francis to be buried at Basilica of St. Mary Major
Vatican City: Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 at his residence in Casa Santa Marta, Vatican City, will be laid to rest on Saturday at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
The basilica, one of the four major papal basilicas, holds personal significance for the late pontiff. He regularly visited the site for prayer, particularly after returning from apostolic visits abroad. This will be the first papal burial at the basilica since the 17th century, when Pope Clement IX was interred there.
The basilica also contains the tombs of seven other popes, early Christian saints including Matthew and Jerome, and the Renaissance artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his family.
In accordance with his wishes, Pope Francis will be buried in a simple grave with a single inscription and no elaborate decoration. The Vatican confirmed that his body may be temporarily transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, April 23, subject to the approval of the College of Cardinals, to allow members of the public to pay their respects.
The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, has called for General Congregations to begin on Tuesday, in preparation for the upcoming Conclave. The Conclave to elect the next pope is expected to take place between May 5 and May 10.
Heads of state and official delegations from several countries are expected to attend the funeral. Both Italy and India have declared three days of national mourning.
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the first Jesuit and the first Latin American to be elected pope. He became the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Throughout his papacy, he chose to reside at the Vatican guesthouse, Santa Marta, rather than the official papal apartments.
Hours before his death, Pope Francis attended Easter services and held a meeting with United States Vice President J.D. Vance.
