SC lists PIL challenging Waqf Amendment Act for hearing on May 15 by next CJI | India News

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday posted petitions challenging the constitutionality of Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, for hearing earlier than a bench headed by CJI-designate B R Gavai on May 15, a day by which Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna would have retired. CJI Khanna stated even for passing interim order, it requires a prolonged hearing.
CJI Khanna-led bench stated the Centre has raised some factors on registration of waqf properties which might require detailed consideration by the courtroom. “I do not want to reserve any judgment, or even interim order, at this stage,” stated CJI Khanna, who retires on May 13.
“I don’t have to reserve any judgment or order at the interim stage. This matter will have to be heard on a reasonably early date, and this will not be before me. If you all agree, we post it before a bench of Justice Gavai,” CJI Khanna stated, as reported by DwellLaw.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi, showing for the petitioners, together with solicitor common Tushar Mehta, agreed to the suggestion made by the CJI.
The three-judge bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna, J Sanjay Kumar & J KV Viswanathan was hearing on Monday the batch of 5 petitions which at the moment are titled In Re the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 and different associated recent pleas on the difficulty. The batch of pleas embrace the one filed by AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asadudding Owaisi.
This comes weeks after the federal government paused two central elements of the contentious regulation within the face of probing questions by the highest courtroom. The Centre assured the apex courtroom on April 17 that it might neither denotify waqf properties, together with “waqf by user”, nor make any appointments to the Central Waqf Council and boards until May 5.
Solicitor common Tushar Mehta, showing for Centre, had made the reassurance in April 17 hearing whereas informing the Supreme Court that the regulation, handed by Parliament with “due deliberations”, shouldn’t be stayed with out hearing the federal government.
The Centre had additionally strongly opposed the apex courtroom’s proposal to cross an interim order in opposition to the denotification of Waqf properties, together with ‘waqf by consumer’, apart from staying a provision permitting the inclusion of non-Muslims within the Central Waqf Council and boards.
The prime courtroom had famous the submissions of Mehta and stated that waqf properties, together with ‘waqf by consumer’, already registered or declared by means of notification, shall not be disturbed and denotified until the next date of hearing.
It had then granted every week’s time to the Centre to file a preliminary response to the pleas challenging the validity of the regulation and posted the matter on May 5.
In its affidavit on April 25, the Centre defended the amended Act and opposed any “blanket stay” by the courtroom on a (*15*). Justifying a provision on “waqf by user” properties, it stated any interference would create a “legislative regime by a judicial order”.
Waqf by consumer refers to a apply the place a property is recognised as a non secular or charitable endowment (waqf) based mostly on its long-term, uninterrupted use for such functions, even when there is not a proper and written declaration of waqf by the proprietor.
In a 1,332-page preliminary counter-affidavit, the ministry of minority affairs referred to the provisions of the previous waqf legal guidelines and stated the registration of waqf properties, together with ‘waqf by consumer’, has been necessary since 1923.
The authorities, in its affidavit, stated the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, respects the important spiritual practices of Muslims by leaving issues of religion and worship “untouched”.
It had claimed an addition of 20 lakh acre of waqf land submit the regulation’s 2013 modification and flagged “misuse” of waqf provisions to encroach upon non-public and authorities properties.
The Centre urged the apex courtroom to dismiss the pleas in opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Act and termed it “really shocking” that there was a 116 per cent rise within the Waqf space after the 2013 modification.
“Right before even the Mughal era, pre-Independence era and post-Independence era, the total of wakfs created was 18,29,163.896 acres of land in India,” it had claimed, including, “Shockingly, after 2013, the addition of wakf land is 20,92,072.536 acres.”
The affidavit claimed the figures had been voluntarily uploaded by the respective waqfs and waqf boards on the Waqf Management System of India portal.
It argued, “Despite there being a regime of mandatory registration of all kinds of waqf including ‘waqf by user’ making registration mandatory almost since a century, i.e. since 1923, individuals or organisations used to claim private lands and government lands as waqf including under ‘waqf by user’ which not only lead to deprivation of valuable property rights of individual citizens but similarly unauthorised claims over public properties.”
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a distinguished Muslim physique has accused the Centre of submitting incorrect information within the prime courtroom and sought motion in opposition to the officer involved for submitting a “false affidavit”.
The board has expressed critical objections to the assertion made by the federal government that there was a “shocking increase” within the variety of Waqf properties uploaded within the central portal after 2013.
The prime courtroom lately refused to entertain any recent plea in opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, saying it had already been made clear that the courtroom would hear solely 5 of the over 70 litigants on the difficulty.
The Centre notified the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 final month after it bought President Droupadi Murmu’s assent on April 5. The Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha with the help of 288 members whereas 232 MPs had been in opposition to it. The Rajya Sabha noticed 128 members voting in its favour and 95 in opposition to it.